It strikes the Rat and Mouse that now is a particularly good time to be paying close attention to PropertySnake, the place to watch real-life asking price collapses as they happen. Today, we're particularly taken with this rather charming five-bedroom Victorian house in Clapham, down from an original guide price of £1.399m (according to this) to the current £995,000... that's a bargaintastic fall of 28%. Stay tuned for more. And have a great weekend.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

... as far as Clapham. Where Lucy Alexander discovers just how much you can buy for £3.85m. Actually, I'm only being facetious out of duty. It's an interesting story about what began as a small project, turned into a major renovation, and is now one of Clapham's finest... a beautifully spec'd house originally built for the creator of Royal Doulton china. The point being made is... why, these days, would anyone pay Chelsea prices to live in Chelsea? Except... guess where the developer wants to move once she's got her sale?

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Paul Hawkins writes in the Times about the shooting of 15-year-old Billy Fox Cox, no more than a few hundred yards from "speciality bread shops and estate agents advertising million-pound houses". For Christ's sake, stop the madness, she demands:

The Fenwick estate may not be an attractive place to live, but Clapham is no Peckham.

Too right it's not. It has organic food merchants and an independent bookshop. It's young residents shouldn't be shot. The article might not have too many words of comfort if you're reading this from your home in Peckham. But if you're a Clapham resident, the message is clear. Don't panic. The value of your home is unlikely to be affected by a few dead teenagers.

At the corner of Clapham High Street and Lendal Terrace, graffiti reading “RIP Remer”, a reference to Billy, the third South London teenager to be shot and killed in the space of two weeks, remains, but the disturbing violence is unlikely to affect house prices in what remains a sought-after location.

We'd like to have read Hawkins tackle the issue of the graffiti itself... because we all know how graffiti can instantly negate the added value of a well-constructed side return with all relevant planning permission. But unfortunately the rest of the article is devoted to the attractions of living in Clapham if you're young a minted.

Posh Peckham [April 6, 2006]
More for your money in Bellenden Road [March 14, 2006]
Peckham in the sky with diamonds... [September 23, 2005]

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

The Daily Mail is reporting on the plight of Edgeley Road resident Mark Vella, who is taking Lambeth Council to the High Court for failing to serve a Noise Abatement Notice to his landlords, London and Quadrant Housing Trust. He claims that noise insulation in his converted one-bedroom flat in Elmshurst Mansions is unsatisfactory. The noise of his neighbours (whom Vella isn't blaming) has driven him out of his home for long periods and affected his health. If he wins, experts warn it could turn out expensive for landlords nationwide.