Q. I recently had my riverside apartment located within close proximity to Canary Wharf valued, and was shocked to find out how much it had increased in value over the last 12 months. Has the market really increased that much?
A. Correct. Current market conditions particularly in this area have dramatically increased over the past 12 months, some as much as £100,000. There are many reasons for this, which include demand outstripping supply which will obviously force prices up as more than one buyer is willing to pay the asking price or more, as soon as the property hits the open market. Bonuses have had a huge impact as they were good last year and even better this year. Also, there has been a huge turnaround in who is buying, in 2000 when I first began selling in the area I would say that at least 90% of my buyers were buying for investment. Today however, we see a totally different market in that 95% are buying to occupy themselves, which means there is always some emotional attachment to a purchase which helps towards driving the prices up. Now that the much needed infrastructure is in place, Canary Wharf is not only a very attractive place to live, but is also a sound investment