I liked the phrase ‘London Residential is now a recognised asset class’ used by Savills’ chief executive Jeremy Helsby. The upmarket estate agent was announcing good profit and revenue growth on the back of prime London properties during 2011. This overall growth was despite lower commercial property transactions, losses in Europe and a slow down [...]

Location, Price and Size are the crucial items when someone is buying a house. However there are lots of emotions attached to the buying decision and you can influence viewers of a property. The garden is one area where emotions and perceptions can be shaped and formed. It is also one reason why Spring is [...]

Are you living in a house price hotspot asks This is Money? Unlikely according to various responders to the question. The economist in Paul, Planet Earth has a view: ‘So the governments only plan is to use high RPI to erode national debt and bring House Prices down. Its a bit of a balancing act [...]

Where better to see and read about ‘The English Country House’ than in a Country Life Publication. ‘Look at the architecture and interiors of sixty-two stunning houses in a range of architectural styles spanning seven centuries—from the medieval Stokesay Castle to the newly built, Lutyens-inspired Corfe Farm.’ The English Country House (Country Life Magazine) by [...]

Going up, going down or staying roughly the same house prices are still volatile and it will remain so in 2011

Do you wish you had seen a 24% increase in your house price since the post credit crisis in March 2009. Well prime houses in London’s top streets have done just that. Prime properties are defined by Knight Frank Rutley as £2m plus and they attribute much of this increase to international demand. Why are [...]

External Factors Holding Prices Down Viable demand is the determining factor for house prices. Someone must want the property and be able to pay the price. Demand without the wherewithal to pay is not viable. Low demand will lead to low prices. Lack of appropriate property available for sale at the ‘right price’. Due to [...]

On Monevator’s blog, there is an interesting article on the old conundrum of buying vs renting. Despite rising house prices and high house price to income ratios, it still makes a lot of sense to try and buy rather than rent. The main incentive put forward in the article is the ability to pay off [...]

Money Week offer a report entitled ‘When will house prices bottom out and when will you know?’ The report is free if you sign up for a trial of Money Week’s magazine. Cyclical Approach Using graphs and statistics going back to the beginning of the 19th century 18 year cycles are identified. From this a [...]