The Telegraph's Tips For Property Hotspots

Dean Nicholas
By Dean Nicholas Last edited 194 months ago
The Telegraph's Tips For Property Hotspots
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Mere days after warning us about 'white flight' and the perils of living in modern London, scribes at the Telegraph have had a volte-face, and declared their love for our flawed yet fantastic city with a special report on the top 10 property hotspots for 2008.

First up on the list: well, colour us a shade of surprised blue - the Telegraph's only singled out the borough of Kensington and Chelsea, home to Notting Hill and the new Tory elite! Despite obvious enthusiasm about K&C, the report soberly notes the average cost of property in the borough now stands at £850,000, meaning it is "beyond the pockets of most small investors". Or, in other words, about as affordable to the average Joe Pilgrim as an executive box at Stamford Bridge.

If that doesn't quite fit your slim price bracket, then nearby areas such as Hammersmith and White City are also given the thumbs up, while southwards your money could take you far in "media and entertainment people"-stuffed Wandsworth and Battersea. Borough and Southwark are also purred over approvingly, but potential buyers are warned about that "Stalinist architecture".

Elsewhere, investment opportunities abound in waterside properties that will boom as the Olympics nears, particularly around the Lea Valley, Docklands, Greenwich Peninsula and Shad Thames areas. London's waterfront is already a place where development is happening at a rapid clip, as shown at the NLA exhibition we reviewed recently. However, as last year's ace (and Londonist Stays In favourite) documentary The Tower showed, the mixture of old working-class communities with their new, minted neighbours can prove problematic for both sides. Still, there's little mention of that in the Pollyannaish Telegraph, which enthuses about off-plan properties and river views.

Okay, we'll admit it - we're just a little jealous that we're unlikely to be relocating Londonist Towers to the riverside anytime soon, is all.

Pic of balconies in Shad Thames from masochismtango's Flickrstream

Last Updated 17 January 2008