Homeowners plan early start to the Olympics party

[Fiona]

Homeowners and property speculators are trying to cash in on a likely speculative price boom ahead of the future Olympic games in London, two reports showed today.

Sellers in the East End borough of Tower Hamlets have jacked up the asking prices of their homes by an "exceptional" £12,000 so far this month, one property website said.

Although Britain will not host the games in Stratford, east London until 2012, the figures showed that speculation has triggered a sharp spike in property prices.

The jump of almost 5 per cent in just one month drove the average asking price in London up by 0.7 per cent or £1,036, according to data from Rightmove.

Neighbouring East End borough Newham, which includes Stratford, posted a 3.1 per cent rise. Miles Shipside, Rightmove's commercial director, said Tower Hamlets' "exceptional" £12,000 rise made it the UK's "property hotspot".

"The London figures were boosted by strong rises in boroughs closely associated with the massive Olympics investment," he said.

Meanwhile, Primelocation, a rival estate agents' website, said the prices of the average home sold this month in the Docklands, City of London and Islington had risen 2.4 per cent over the last four weeks.

While prices in those areas had fallen by 1 per cent in the three months leading up to the bid, they have surged by 3.6 per cent since then, it said.

"The Olympic effect is clearly apparent," said Ian Springett, Primelocation's chief executive. "The activity in the prime property region in the east of London makes clear that effect is already motion."

The price spikes contributed towards a general rise in prices in October, boosting hopes that the property market is recovering.

Rightmove said vendors hiked the asking price of the average home by 0.5 per cent or £941 this month, the first rise since June.

Rightmove said its figures showed a "degree of optimism" had returned to the market. "After five years of booming house prices, followed by a year-long worry about a crash, we appear to have had a 'soft landing'," Mr Shipside said.

However he played down talk of a return to boom conditions saying that that would require an influx of first time buyers, lower mortgage rates and further realistic pricing by sellers and their agents.

Homeowners and property speculators are trying to cash in on a likely speculative price boom ahead of the future Olympic games in London, two reports showed today.

Sellers in the East End borough of Tower Hamlets have jacked up the asking prices of their homes by an "exceptional" £12,000 so far this month, one property website said.

Although Britain will not host the games in Stratford, east London until 2012, the figures showed that speculation has triggered a sharp spike in property prices.

The jump of almost 5 per cent in just one month drove the average asking price in London up by 0.7 per cent or £1,036, according to data from Rightmove.

Neighbouring East End borough Newham, which includes Stratford, posted a 3.1 per cent rise. Miles Shipside, Rightmove's commercial director, said Tower Hamlets' "exceptional" £12,000 rise made it the UK's "property hotspot".

"The London figures were boosted by strong rises in boroughs closely associated with the massive Olympics investment," he said.

Meanwhile, Primelocation, a rival estate agents' website, said the prices of the average home sold this month in the Docklands, City of London and Islington had risen 2.4 per cent over the last four weeks.

While prices in those areas had fallen by 1 per cent in the three months leading up to the bid, they have surged by 3.6 per cent since then, it said.

"The Olympic effect is clearly apparent," said Ian Springett, Primelocation's chief executive. "The activity in the prime property region in the east of London makes clear that effect is already motion."

The price spikes contributed towards a general rise in prices in October, boosting hopes that the property market is recovering.

Rightmove said vendors hiked the asking price of the average home by 0.5 per cent or £941 this month, the first rise since June.

Rightmove said its figures showed a "degree of optimism" had returned to the market. "After five years of booming house prices, followed by a year-long worry about a crash, we appear to have had a 'soft landing'," Mr Shipside said.

However he played down talk of a return to boom conditions saying that that would require an influx of first time buyers, lower mortgage rates and further realistic pricing by sellers and their agents.

Independent Online

[Fiona]

Olympic boost for East End property prices

HOMEOWNERS in London’s East End are winning an early prize from the capital’s successful bid to host the Olympic Games in 2012, according to new research.

Rightmove’s monthly survey of asking prices will show today that house prices in Tower Hamlets and Newham, two of the London boroughs that will play host to the games, showed some of the highest gains across the capital last month.

The average asking price in Tower Hamlets, part of which will be redeveloped as part of plans for the Olympic Park, rose by 4.6 per cent in the four weeks to October 8, compared with the previous four-week period. Prices in Newham, which will be home to the Olympic village and main stadium, increased by 3.1 per cent in the same period.

The rises come on the back of strong gains made in the previous month, when Tower Hamlets prices were up 3.3 per cent and prices in Newham up 3.1 per cent.

Property prices in and around the London boroughs set to host the 2012 Olympic games showed some of the best rises across London in the latest figures. Prices in Kingston upon Thames and Richmond upon Thames, in the southwest of the city, fell by 4 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively. Elsewhere many boroughs showed marginal gains, with Kensington and Chelsea up 0.8 per cent compared with the previous month, and Lambeth up 0.6 per cent.

The Rightmove figures also show a return to growth in the average asking price across the UK. The average asking price rose by 0.5 per cent, or £941, to £196,348 in October, having fallen by £3,235 to £195,407 in the three months to September.

Miles Shipside, commercial director for the property website, said: “We appear to have had a soft landing. However, don’t expect the market to take off again until a refuelling by more first-time buyers, lower mortgage rates, and a continuation of realistic pricing by sellers and their estate agents.”

Timesonline.co.uk