House prices 60pc lower in suburbia September 18, 2011 LONDON workers save an average of 60 per cent on house prices by living an hour’s rail journey away from the capital. New research shows the typical £4,400 annual cost of a 60-minute commute to the centre of London is dwarfed by the money saved from lower property costs. The Halifax study showed average house [...]
The millionaire towns in capital commuter belt September 18, 2011 HALF of the houses on the market in commuter town Beaconsfield, Bucks, are valued at over £1m, a survey out today from primelocation.com reveals. At 47 per cent, the town has the highest proportion of seven-figure homes in the country. Indeed, the top fifteen towns with the highest percentage of million pound houses are all [...]
History lives on in the City of Angels September 18, 2011 WELCOME to LA. Embrace the pain!” jokes leading man Scoot McNairy in the touching 2007 indie flick In Search Of A Midnight Kiss. McNairy’s character is a failed, lonely screenwriter trying to woo a failed, lonely actress (Sarah Simmonds) on a New Year’s Eve date. His poignant words echo around the famous Orpheum Theatre, a [...]
TRAVEL NOTES September 18, 2011 SHA’s new “absolute rejuvenation programme” Spain’s famous SHA wellness retreat has launched a new 14-day programme that’s one up even on its regular course of wellness enhancement. This one features macrobiotic nutrition to purify and rebalance the body and mind while scientific and holistic spa treatments try to physically iron out any kinks. It’s fairly [...]
Time to plan your golden getaway September 18, 2011 Deserted beaches, colourful fiestas, shopping meccas, or that perfect sunset – every destination opens up a world of golden opportunities. If exploring new places is your passion, the Preferred Rewards Gold Card from American Express can make your getaway even more rewarding. With the value of gold at an all time high, the Card now [...]
London’s soaring rents boost landlords’ returns September 16, 2011 MONTHLY rents have grown for the seventh month in a row, according to figures out today from LSL Property Services’ buy-to-let index. London’s rents increased by 1.5 per cent on average last month compared with July, hitting new highs of £1,025 per month. That compares with prices of £713 across England and Wales, which went [...]
Award-winning city penthouse September 15, 2011 FOR sale by the building’s architects, the couple Patrick Theis and Soraya Kahn, the penthouse in this extraordinarily elegant, intelligent development in Shoreditch is a prime and prestigious choice for anyone working in the City. The building – designed to be both for working and living – has won several awards and was short-listed for [...]
THE LONDON BAROMETER September 15, 2011 MARKET COMMENT During August we took on 20 per cent more property instructions than we did last year. This is despite the fact that property stock levels are down by 15 per. While the number of new applicants registering with estate agents is down on July’s figures – to be expected for August – the [...]
Getting the very best from the Home Counties September 15, 2011 PEOPLE are often very unfair to the Home Counties,” says James Grillo of Chesterton Humberts, “There is so much more to it than sprawling suburbia.” Indeed, as he points out, there’s more woodland per acre in Surrey than another county in England. “The schools are great, the commute is quick and the properties are fabulous.” [...]
Edges smoothed on Swiss prices September 15, 2011 ORDINARY mortals find the cost of a single pizza in Switzerland staggering – friends reported having to pay SFR50 for one in Verbier a few weeks ago. Indeed, with the Swiss franc having appreciated by 20 per cent against the euro in the last 12 months alone, the Swiss economy has felt the effects on [...]