Focus on Beckenham: Rising London house prices make this a south east hotspot January 29, 2015 Moving out to the sticks to start a family is hardly a new phenomenon, but the rapid rise of inner city house prices means more people are re-evaluating where the sticks start and the rat race begins. As a result, areas like Beckenham, once the preserve of the affluent suburban family, are starting to appeal [...]
Private view: On the market in Beckenham January 29, 2015 33 HAYES WAY £859,000 This four bedroom family home is situated in the much sought after area of Park Langley, a conservation area that’s in the catchment area of the popular Langley Park schools. Available with off-street parking, it also has three reception rooms and a landscaped garden to the rear. Contact sales agent Helen [...]
Decamp to a serviced residence: Cheval apartments are a homely alternative to long hotel stays January 29, 2015 There’s an undeniable glamour to hotels, but staying in them for prolonged periods can leave you craving home comforts; a kitchen, a living room – something more permanent than a box with a bed. That’s where the idea of serviced apartments comes in. Whether its business or pleasure, those facing long spells away can look [...]
Is OnTheMarket.com a portal to a new way of working? Estate agent Douglas & Gordon is on board January 29, 2015 New online property portal OnTheMarket.com launched this week. Set up by the Agents’ Mutual group of estate agents, it hopes to topple the “duopoly” of Rightmove and Zoopla with a multimillion pound advertising campaign due to hit this Sunday. Critics have called the move “regressive” and “anti-consumer”. Ed Mead explains why he thinks it is [...]
Are eco-homes the key to sustainable living? Igloo brings “fabric first” approach to Islington January 29, 2015 Burns Night may be over, but there’s a small patch of N1 with Scottish history that’s about to embark on a new beginning. Caledonian Road, a mile and a half-long stretch in between the recently transformed area of King’s Cross and Islington, is affectionately known as The Cally. It started life as the site of [...]
High hopes for 250 City Road as Berkeley unveils new tower at Tech City hub January 29, 2015 Anyone following the current spread of new developments cropping up around London could be forgiven for thinking the market on City Road is over-saturated. This long stretch off of Old Street roundabout has attracted a seriously impressive number of developers, which is partly a success story for Tech City (the government-backed initiative to create a [...]
Life as the collector of beautiful things and designer of South Bank homes January 29, 2015 The horde of residential skyscrapers set to tower over London in the not-too-distant future may be intimidating, but interior designer Sophie Ashby is more overwhelmed by the prospect of what goes in them. After only a year in business, her design firm Ashby Studios was hired to dress the show apartment of South Bank Tower. [...]
London barometer January 29, 2015 Sales Director, Douglas & Gordon At the end of 2014, more offers were agreed than the same time last year despite a 20 per cent reduction in applicants. Pragmatic purchasers seized the opportunity to secure good value for money and, interestingly, fall-throughs were at a 12 month low. As a direct impact of stamp duty [...]
Living the high life in Montmartre January 29, 2015 Green space is pretty scarce in Paris, especially when compared to London, so here’s an unusual pocket of privacy in the city of love In our increasingly over-populated cities, there are few things more valuable than green space. It’s seen as a luxury in many of the world’s cities, but nowhere values it more highly [...]
Long commute? Plug in to one of these podcasts January 29, 2015 Adam Martin runs through four of the best you can listen to in the year ahead. Many have heralded 2015 as the year of the podcast. At the end of last year, murder mystery Serial held a good chunk of the world captivated, almost single-handedly proving that, not only is the podcast alive and kicking, [...]