House Valued have trebled in the past 10 Years

HOUSE values have trebled in the past ten years according to a recent study by Halifax.

In addition to this, the findings, as reported in the Scotsman, concludes that the north-south divide in house prices has significantly narrowed in the past five years.

Other interesting comments include the fact that despite this price gap being bridged, seven of the ten wealthiest areas are in London and the “inner west pocket of the capital has a housing stock worth more than the entire north of England - despite being just 110 square kilometres in area compared to the north's 8,592 square kilometres”

For more information or snippets from this Halifax study, please read the Scotsman article.

Prime London market begins 2006 'with a flourish'

Property prices in prime areas of central London have achieved growth in the seven months up to February.

The PrimeLocation property index, says that prices rose by five per cent during this period, creating an average value of over £930,000.

It cited the high bonuses recently paid out to City workers as one of the reasons for growth.

The website for estate agent's report shows that demand for property in these areas is high, with prime property available for sale held by London estate agents having fallen in number by over 21 per cent since last July.

The index also suggests that the prime London property letting market has grown by around five per cent since September 2005.

In the last year, significant growth has been experienced in the house rental market (up 11.3 per cent) compared to an increase of 2.7 per cent for flats.

PrimeLocation's chief executive, Ian Springett, said: 'The prime London property markets in residential sales and letting have certainly begun 2006 with a flourish. Here, the competition is fierce due to favourable domestic conditions and continued interest from overseas.'