Blogs of author

Britain's most expensive field was put up for sale for an astonishing £30 million.

Parkwood Estate is currently a 77 acre patch of open land but has planning permission to build a spectacular 33,000 sq/ft mansion.

The property would be 30 times the size of the average new home with ten bedrooms, a library, cinema, spa, staff accommodation and an indoor swimming pool.

After building the new home for around £15 million, it is thought the estate will be worth as much as £100 million potentially netting the owner a £50 million profit.

At this price, Parkwood Estate would be the most expensive

London house prices in the first quarter of this year were up 18% compared with the same period in 2013, and prices in the capital are now 20% above their 2007 peak, Nationwide said.

"The gap between house prices in London and the rest of the UK is the widest it's ever been," according to Nationwide's chief economist, Robert Gardner.

However, the figures show that house prices are surging in other cities too. Prices in Manchester have risen by 18% over the past 12 months, while prices in both Brighton and Cambridge rose by 14%.

In contrast, prices in Sunderland rose by just 1%, and in Coventry

House price growth is showing "tentative signs of moderation", according to the UK's second biggest mortgage lender.

Nationwide said house price inflation was slowing, on both a monthly and quarterly basis. However, when measured annually, price growth accelerated in March, with prices up 9.5% from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the gap between house prices in London and the rest of the UK has reached a record. Average values in the capital are now more than double those in the rest of the UK, at £362,699.

The overall average house value in the UK now stands at £180,264, the highest since January

Acuitus’s March auction vividly illustrated the new buying power in the auction room: the sale raised £51m with lots selling at an average price of £1.3m with one achieving £9.55m in the room.

The ground rent investment interest in the Debenhams department store in Station Road, Harrow was the object of sustained bidding before the hammer came down at £9.55m – reflecting a net initial yield of 4.08%. The property is let to Nominees of the M&G Property Portfolio until 2074 at a current rent of £412,500pax.

“The scale of the price achieved meant it was a special moment at the auction,” comments

Prince Charles has warned that predicted house price rises for London are not sustainable and risk driving away young talent.

The Prince said the hope of home ownership for those starting their careers in the capital was becoming further and further out of reach. He was speaking as his organisation the Prince's Foundation for Building Community launched a report which suggested that mid-rise buildings could be the solution.

Addressing the Housing London Symposium, in east London, the prince said: "The National Housing Federation estimates that in only six years' time the average London house

Thinking about selling at auction or want to know how much your property might be worth at auction? We are now undertaking property valuations for entries into the next round of auctions of the year. So why not send us a few details about your property, and one of our auctioneers will give you a ring, to chat further about your requirements.

Selling a property by auction is easier than many people think, and the prices that we achieve are usually higher than expected too.  So if you are thinking about selling and your property might be suitable for auction (residential

Property auctioneer Auction House has announced it is expanding again this year, with the opening of a new auction room covering North Derbyshire.

The opening of the Chesterfield branch will take the brand’s total to 34 outlets across England, Scotland and Wales, and will trade as Auction House Copelands. The first sale for the new auction room is scheduled for April 30th.

The firm will also see the opening of a new Sheffield auction room; run by experienced auctioneer David Tate, holding its first sale on April 30th.

The expansion comes as Auction House reports sales were up by 9% at

Housebuilder Berkeley Group has said it expects to complete 30% more homes this year than during the 2007 market peak.

It has credited the government's Help to Buy scheme with boosting the property market and speeding up the number of new homes being built.

The firm's forecast comes shortly after the chancellor's decision to extend the equity loan scheme for new homes until 2020, in England at least. Shares in UK housebuilders rose sharply on the news on Monday.

An extra £6bn would be put into the English Help to Buy scheme, George Osborne said at the weekend, allowing a further 120,000 new

We like to share the insights from our auction partners, the latest being from Auction House Gloucestershire, who this week discussed one of their latest property challenges:

As property auctioneers we are asked to value all kinds of property for public and private sector clients. Recently we were called out to value some former public conveniences for South Gloucestershire Council. Located in Thornbury the building was disused and our client was looking to get maximum value out of this unwanted asset.

We recommended auction as the best method. For our client auction had the benefits of

Homeowners trying to sell their property should hide self-help manuals and novels like 50 Shades of Grey and display cookery books and Dickens instead, according to TV homes expert Sarah Beeny.

Along with the smell of freshly-baked bread and the sight of peeling paint, books can be as much of a help or hindrance to finding a prospective buyer for a home, said the presenter.

Homes should not have too many books to avoid “a chaotic feel”, according to Beeny. Too many also spoil the look of photos of the property and can make rooms seem smaller.

Booklovers with teeming shelves should consider