HOMEOWNERS are feeling the warm glow of the property market following the publication this week of a rash of surveys reporting house price rises. Land Registry figures tell us that the value of our bricks and mortar has increased by 6.3 per cent over the past year, or even more if we live in London, as wealthy buyers with City bonuses to spend compete for a handful of properties in the “right” postcode.

But statistics can be misleading. Average house prices have indeed risen substantially but “average” can hide a multitude of sins. “The strong growth in house prices across London and the South East continues to put a major gloss on the apparent strength of the national housing market,” says Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, the property data company.

The new and improved house price index by the Land Registry, published for the first time this week, adds weight to his argument, revealing that the market is not uniformly robust. While property prices rose by 14.1 per cent over the year in Kensington and Chelsea, homeowners in the London boroughs of Havering and Sutton suffered falls of 0.5 per cent. Elsewhere, Darlington and Caerphilly experienced falls of 2.5 per cent and 2.1 per cent respectively.

The market might be gathering momentum, but timing and pricing remain crucial for anyone hoping to buy or sell. So how do you handle the property game in a rising market? Bricks and Mortar finds out:

THE BUYING AGENT

Rupert Bradstock, managing director of Property Vision, buying agents: “Price rises at the top of the London market have lagged behind the mainstream over the past few years. Between 2001 and 2005, the average house price rose by about 70 per cent. Prices for homes worth more than £1 million only increased by 7 per cent over the same period. But that all changed this year.

“We have seen a strong market in 2006 led by Central London. Unlike last year, high-end buyers have been motivated to move. Confidence has finally returned to the top of the property market after a number of slow years marred by wars and difficult stock markets. Now 50 per cent of buyers in London are coming from abroad. Their interest has helped push up prices by 20 per cent this year.

“But one of the real killers in the market are greedy vendors. If you look at the houses that haven’t sold, it’s the ones that have been overvalued. Buyers are not stupid. Assuming that there are no nasty events to derail the financial markets, we could see price rises of between 10 and 20 per cent both in town and country next year.” Property Vision: 020-7823 8388

THE FIRST-TIME BUYER

Laura Webster: “Peer pressure and constant nagging from my parents prompted me to start looking for a flat this spring. Unfortunately I could not afford anywhere in London on my own, so I am buying with my sister. After a number of internet searches, we decided to look in southeast London. We were lucky to find a two-bedroom flat, but we had to compromise as it has quite a short lease. I only viewed about nine properties. I wanted to see more, but they were selling within days of coming on to the market. Prices have gone up since the start of my search. I would be pushed to find something at the same price if the sale fell through.”

THE LONDON ESTATE AGENT

Ed Mead, a director at Douglas & Gordon: “The property market exceeded expectations this year. By the summer, prices had reached their annual forecasts of 7 to 9 per cent. Values rose again by a similar amount in September and October as buyers arrived from around the world looking for homes in West London. City bonuses have also helped. But I must stress that this is not an Eighties-style market. You will not see any old rubbish selling at silly money. Buyers are more discerning and there is a shortage of good homes for sale. The market in affluent suburbs such as Clapham, Fulham, Wandsworth, Battersea and Balham is quite static because of the huge costs of moving. Many are employing foreign workers and adding an extension rather than moving.”
Douglas & Gordon: 020-7225 1225

THE COUNTRY AGENT

Henry Holland-Hibbert, of Lane Fox: “People are prepared to travel farther and many work from home, which has made a big difference to the property market in counties such as Herefordshire and Shropshire. Three years ago, prices were about 50 per cent cheaper than in the Home Counties; now the difference is only about 20 per cent. You can still find value in the Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire border, but the market will not go up at this pace for ever. Next year I expect we will see a more modest rise of between 5 and 8 per cent.”
Lane Fox: 020-7499 4785

THE SELLER

Tim Reeve and Liz Rook have been trying to sell a seven-bedroom country house in Pirbright, Surrey, for over a year. Tim says: “We are looking to move to France and tried to sell the house last year. It was on the market for about nine months, but the market was dead and we got a lot of silliness, so we took it off. But we are confident this time. Even though it’s only a 25-minute commute to London Waterloo, it’s a very private place because we are in a forest of pine trees, so it is always green.”
The Wilderness is for sale with Cluttons (020-7408 1010) for £1.95 million.

THE DESPERATE BUYER

The novelist Emma Tennant has been living in Notting Hill since 1973. She says: “I’ve just been offered an eye-watering sum by a woman who I expect works in the City. It’s happening all over Notting Hill. Offers come through the letterbox every day. People can’t resist selling up. When I first moved here, I bought 60 Elgin Crescent for £68,000. The place was full of artists, antique dealers and theatre critics. Now there is a banker on every floor. I would love to move, but can’t find anywhere suitable. The trouble is that, once you have lived here, nothing else is quite up to scratch.”
www.landregistry.gov.uk/houseprices

Times recommends

• Second homes: credit crunch casualty or money-spinner?
• How I built my own sliding house
• Top 10 incentives for house buyers