BEDOUIN CAMP SCENES AS
BUYERS GO UP THE CREEK
There were fireworks, flaming torches and a Bedouin encampment pitched in the desert wastes of Deptford Creek as Docklands most innovative housebuilder launched their latest offering.

There were 100 camp followers at the entrance of the oasis alongside the Deptford Bridge station of the Docklands Light Railway who were then admitted only when their pre-registered name was shouted out. They were hurried into one of the pitched tents, allowed to select the property they wanted and then they signed on the dotted line.

Only then was champagne and Arabic-style nibbles thrust into their still shaking hands. For buying in Deptford, long renowned as one of the toughest areas of South London, is a property journey into the unknown. It's not rich in amenities, apart from its infamous street market, just around the corner, but St James Homes, the go-ahead outfit behind One SE8 are going to provide leisure facilities, including a swimming pool, for those who dare to be different

Other life support items include built-in online shopping, Avis car hire, Habitat furniture, laid-on limo, personal trainer, and bespoke carry-in menus. Best of all is the 30-second sprint to the DLR station and the 12 minute journey to Canary Wharf.

Some of London Docklands usual investors snapped up bargains at prices ranging from 1-bed at £160,000 to 3-bed apartments at £335,000 - the highest ever in this part of this town. One investor bought two apartments thanks to the homeless guy who camped out for two nights to get him a place at the head of queue. Going price for camping out on new development sites £100 a night plus thermos.

One SE8 will have 450 one and two-bed apartments. Ian Hughes, sales and marketing director said:"This scheme really has caught people's imagination and we have been inundated with calls and inquiries."

There are two resales already on the market, email our
property location team if you are interested.
Browse the ONESE8 website?


DOCKS PROPERTY RECOVERS
AFTER USA TERRORIST ATTACKS
Within days of the USA disasters, activity in the London Docklands property market declined to its lowest level for years as property professionals and their clients took stock - and scheming buyers took advantage.

One lawyer, about to exchange on a £400,000 apartment deal in Wapping, phoned the seller's agent to demand a 20 percent cut in the agreed price as his client felt the terrorism in America would hit the property market. That deal was the first victim of the events in New York and Washington and more swiftly followed in the days to the end of the month. Within days deals worth over £2M were called off as buyers panicked.

Agents reported a steep decline in calls and interest and their websites visitor numbers fell away. London Docklands Online's climbing visitor numbers went into reverse showing a 20 percent dip before the final days of the month when they started to recover.

Part of the recovery was increased confidence and the human resources logistics of the companies affected by the USA disasters. New York traders posted to London and Tokyo while Tokyo execs found themselves being despatched to London at short notice, one banker never having visited London before.

Suddenly the Docklands market was showing signs of life. With October normally a good month for trades in Docklands, property professionals are keeping their fingers crossed.

E16 ROYALS TAKE OVER THE
LONDON PROPERTY CROWN
The new property hotspot of London is now Royal Docklands, the vast open spaces that have long been the Jewels in the Crown of the 55 miles of watersides making up Europe's fastest growing living and working area.

The September national housing survey from hometrack.co.uk shows house price rises continue in all regions but a sharp drop in activity since September 11 suggests house price falls in prospect

There are widespread house price rises, with every region reporting increases in the month. . The average national rise for the September survey is 0.5 percent. However, estate agents have reported a major fall in demand since the tragedies across the Atlantic on September 11. Over eight percent of those polled in a telephone survey since the attacks reported a marked reduction in levels of activity. More than half of the regions have reported falls in the percentage of asking prices actually being achieved on sale. Higher priced properties in London and the South East have been hit particularly hard with agents reporting that viewings have been sharply reduced and offers coming in significantly below current asking prices.

London Docklands remains one of the strongest property markets with none of its five postcode districts showing any price movements while Wapping (E1) showed a mere 0.1 percent price increase. Continuing demand was reinforced by the maximum four weeks it took to sell properties, with Royal Docklands (E16) fulfilling the forecast from London Docklands Online in January that this was the area to watch. For last month, hometrack.co.uk report all properties sold in one week and with only seven viewings to each sale - compared with 13 weeks for "established" residential area, Blackheath.

Our exclusive chart from hometrack data (below) shows the full picture and includes the SE8 (Deptford) and SE10 (Greenwich) postcodes for the first time because of the effect of the DLR extension on the property market in those areas.

John Wriglesworth, hometrack housing economist said: "While house price rises have continued this month, it is a story of two halves. The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon have unquestionably taken the wind out of the sails of housing market confidence. However, strong fundamentals such as record low interest rates, low unemployment and sustained rising household incomes point to further growth in house prices - provided that the prospective war in Central Asia does not spread to other world regions.

" A war limited largely to Afghanistan, alarming though that would be, should not affect the fundamental desire of the British to buy and own their own homes. We therefore continue to predict property price growth of 10 percent for this full calendar year and 5 percent for next year." he added.

London Docklands Property Results September 2001

Post code	monthly price change	Av price	weeks to sell	viewings to sale	% change in reg. properties	% in sales agreed	% in registered buyers
E1	0.1	240,800	3	9	8	-5	-7
E14	0	241,900	3	9	10	-7	-7
E16	0	95,300	1	7	-7	-13	-3
SE1	0	259,400	4	10	0	-8	-20
SE3	0	182,500	4	13	12	0	2
SE8	0	136,500	4	11	-4	-11	-16
SE10	0	205,100	5	12	13	0	0
SE16	0	176,900	3	14	5	-8	-10