TG, London
If spotting the next up and coming area, the one that could buck the market, was so easy we’d all have retired by now. It is notoriously difficult to call any market and whether you are playing the stock market or the property market you should only gamble if you’re taking a long view — say five years or more. When a high-profile television presenter lists the next hot spots, chances they have already been spotted.
As soon as the Olympic bid was announced last June, it wasn’t just Sebastian Coe and the mayor that were celebrating, but local estate agents who were deluged with inquiries from investors keen to benefit from the bid, which will include residential development and improved transport links.
You could still buy into the area, which will still see substantial price growth, but not necessarily double that of neighbouring areas as it is so well-publicised. To keep up to date, visit www.london2012.org.
If you can’t afford to invest in known hot spots, your best bet is to buy on the fringes of traditionally safe areas and hope that the price growth trickles out, such as Camden, close to Hampstead, or take a long-term view somewhere like Elephant and Castle, which is patiently waiting for its multi-million pound regeneration. See www.elephantandcastle.org.uk.
Advertisement
Buying a property before such regeneration will give you a better rate of return than the average terrace in London.
For my money, though, you’re still best concentrating on the best you can afford as centrally as you can. Small and rentable to a single professional will yield better long-term growth, with much less hassle, than a bigger house to rent to sharers further out from the centre.
Ed Mead is a director of the London estate agency Douglas & Gordon
Our experts cannot send personal replies. Questions may be edited for reasons of space and advice is given without responsibility.
Advertisement
Please do not send original documents or SAEs
e-mail your questions to propertyexperts@sunday-times.co.uk