Taking a slightly longer historic perspective of 12 months, prices increased by 7% in the City sub-market, 9% in Midtown (here defined as Bloomsbury property sale) and 14% in Docklands (Table 3). One bedroom flats in Docklands typically achieved just under £650 psf at June 2010, with prices of £780 psf and £840 psf in City and Midtown respectively.

Looking at the market by lot size, there were significant differences in the strength of the market according to the type of unit. In the first three months of the year there was strong interest in onebedroom units, driven by demand from the pied-a-terre market. At the other end of the spectrum, during the whole of the first half of 2010, there was very strong interest from purchasers of “top end” apartments of size with features such as balconies, roof terraces,
loft aesthetics, parking spaces and excellent specification. Units with asking prices in excess of £600,000 in Docklands, £900,000 in the City and £1 million in Midtown, often attracted multiple bidders and sold quickly.
Themarket for two-bedroomhomes priced in the range from£500,000- £700,000, however, was perceptibly weaker. Given that prices had risen for a year or more, this segment was perceived by potential owneroccupiers to offer a lower than expected value for money.