WAPPING HOMES SELLING
FASTEST IN THE CAPITAL
There's been a dramatic switch in the homes hotspots of London Docklands as Wapping has become the most popular place to buy in London, where there are now eight buyers chasing each property that comes on the market.

For years apartments in Tower, the cluster of warehouse canyon-like streets hemmed in between Tower Bridge and St Saviour's Dock to the east, have enjoyed a demand only just below Kensington and St John's Wood. Price increases have been fuelled by the cosmopolitan appeal to international business executives and City bankers.

Wapping E1, the riverside village that time forgot, has played second fiddle to Tower as 1,000s of new homes were created from old warehouses and wharves in the two districts which face each other across the River Thames.

Now new research from Hometrack, the housing research organisation, shows that homes in Wapping are selling faster than anywhere in London - within two weeks, with an average of just six viewings before a sale.

In Tower SE1 it takes an average of four weeks and nine viewings to achieve a sale. There are 18 percent more people wanting Wapping compared with an increase of 13 percent trying to buy in Tower, according to figures released by Hometrack.

Tower still shows the way when it comes to prices achieved with 96 percent of the asking price and an average sales price of £316,000, compared with Wapping at 95 percent and £182,000. Other figures suggest, however, that homes for sale are drying up in Tower.

Patrick Currie, CEO of hometrack.co.uk said: "The buying public are becoming more and more frustrated by the lack of quality properties for sale. The in-balance is forcing up prices and results in properties changing hands more quickly."

District	time to sell	av views to sale	% change instructs	% sell to ask price	% change new buyers	average of all sales
Tower	4	9	19	96	13	£316K
Wapping	2	6	28	95	18	£182K
City EC2	4	8	30	97	5	£316K
Greenwich	3	9	20	95	10	£386K