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A absolutely vital piece of information for UK property buyers. The list below comprises 10 property ‘hotspots’ in Britain for investors to consider. These are the towns that are most likely to outscore the national average by a significant amount during the course of 2008.

The spots have been identified by Halifax Estate Agents who believe that house prices in these areas are currently lagging behind the average for their respective regions, so there is scope for an upward turn.

Here is the list of towns along with their present average price as well as the difference in percentage to the regional average:
• Lochgelly - Fife, Scotland - (£118,838, -31%)
• Paisley - Scotland - (£140,338, -19%)
• Greenock - Scotland - (£140,512, -19 %)
• Aberdeen - Scotland - (£202,755, +17 %)
• Hackney - north London - (£361,179, -2 %)
• Chatham - Kent - (£195,211, -31 %)
• Dartford - Kent - (£217,279, -24 %)
• Liverpool - (£155,353, -11 %)
• Newport - Gwent - (£146,467, -11 %)
• Pontypool - southeast Wales - (£148,596, -10 %)

According to managing director of Halifax, Colin Kemp, the afforementioned will remain in high demand and property prices will rise accordingly, in spite of the projected subdued outlook across the property market as a whole.

‘Do houses prices indeed only ever go up?…’

This was the title of an insightful article on the website of MoneyWeek. The publication aims to provide readers with enjoyable and intelligent commentary on the most vital financial stories, and guide them on how to profit from them. The article begins with questioning the reaction to the slowdown in the house prices.

The article states that the property market has been overpriced for a long period of time yet individuals kept buying, and thus kept pushing house prices even higher. This was partly due to free, easy availability of credit, but buyers do need to owe up to their own financial decisions.

The essay poses the question: ‘How could intelligent, sensible individuals simply glance at house price growth of previous year and then assume that it was going to continue?’ According to this article, the reply is uncertain but it appears that the Govt. has been employing the same flawed premise to base its Olympic financing requirements.

According to The Times “A £1bn black hole has opened up in the Olympic funding accounts. It’s informative to glance at the thinking which has led to this…Apparently, the Govt. expected to raise around £1.8bn from land sales after the Olympics (scheduled for year 2012). The London Development Authority has now stated that this (expectation) might be too optimistic.”

The article points out that such a projection was dependent upon a 16% annual increase in land prices in the East London are for the next 15-20 years. “Consumers who have been depending on their housing credit line will be required to reduce their spending,” is the concluding point of the article and their answer to the concerns of consumers over the housing cash flow decrease.

British house prices are facing stagnation in the New Year, with a 60% probability of the prices falling at some point in 2008. These findings are based on a poll of property market analysts, recently conducted by Reuters.

The survey shows a definitive end to a decade-long housing boom caused by cheap credit. This phenomena has already occurred three years ago. A combination of a slowing economy, resultant debt loads, and a global credit crunch resulted in a repeat scenario.

Almost all the analysts polled by Reuters said UK housing was appearing a tad expensive if compared with fundamentals, but only by a median 15 percent or so, the same as about three months ago.

“We’ll almost for sure witness a negative annual rate of inflation in certain parts of the UK this year,” was the prediction of Nationwide chief economist, Fionnuala Earley. Her other prediction was the overall flat house prices in 2008.

The Spanish housing market might also be going through a rough patch, as the findings of a companion Reuters poll show. Analysts are expecting house prices in Spain to stagnate in 2008, followed by a slight fall in 2009.

There have been apparent signs in the UK in recent months indicating that the housing market has come off the boil. It remains to be seen how long the scenario persists. Experts are closely monitoring the UK property market for further cues.

The UK’s largest mobile home park has finally found a new owner. The famed Kings Park Village in Canvey Island, Essex, has been bought over by Britannia Parks Ltd, a relatively new entrant to the residential park market. Kings Park Villages’ owner Jack King started it as a holiday park way back in 1959. Covering over 70 acres of land close to the Thames estuary it currently has 734 pitches occupied by park home owners and a further eight mobile homes. The final figure ends at 875 pitches including the land available for re-development. The splendorous Village houses a social club, an outdoor heated swimming pool, bar, shops, owners’ bungalow, reception and offices, all-weather sports pitch and play area. The site is totally enclosed by security fencing.

In 2000 the owner, Jack King redeveloped and restructured vacant holiday chalets, staff accommodation and other redundant buildings to new age specifications. Jack King wanted the Villages’ future owner to maintain the same high standard of management and secure environment, which made it very popular. King found the same commitment in Britannia Parks and thus handed over the legacy that he has created over the last fifty years.

The large acquisition assures Britannia Parks’ commitment to purchase and develop more parks in the UK. The purchase sum for the Kings Park Village is undisclosed.

Tumbling house prices have staged a smart comeback rally, sharply rebounding in December after consecutively going downhill for the previous three months. The latest Halifax review has finally brought some cheer to the turbulent property market. According to the nation’s biggest mortgage lender, average national house prices, computed on basis of its loans to homebuyers, have gone up by nearly 1.3 per cent in last month.

The relief rally helped reverse the slump in November prices as reflected in Halifax’s figures. The figures in October and September also pointed to declines of 0.7 per cent, and 0.6 per cent respectively.

The December bounce back could not have come at a better time. It left house prices slightly lower, by mere 0.8 per cent, over the final quarter of previous year. According to the review, home values in the final quarter of year 2007 were just 5.2 per cent higher than in the corresponding period of last year. That indicated a decline from the double-digit rate of increase witnessed during the autumn. House price inflation had then peaked at 11.4 per cent.

Halifax survey shows that British house prices have zoomed by whopping 182 per cent over the past decade or so - almost trebling from around £70,000 at the end of 1997.

However, some economists are disputing the Halifax figures. They are contrasting its report pointing to a rise in home values in December 2007 with the findings of Nationwide that prices actually fell by half a per cent in the month.

Even Halifax has suggested that the bounce back in prices need not be taken as a signal that imminent worries over the housing market outlook are totally unfounded.

Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland was named the best place to live in the UK by Channel 4’s well known property investment programme - Location, Location, Location.

One of the primary reasons for the city’s winning status are its property prices, they are relatively lower than other big cities of the United Kingdom. Edinburgh is also the second most visited destination in the UK after London. The annual Edinburgh festival attracts visitors from all over the world. With its numerous museums, theaters and art galleries, it is also a perfect city for an art and culture lover. The most important and famous ones are the Museum of Scotland, the Royal Museum, the National Library of Scotland, National War Museum of Scotland, the Museum of Edinburgh, Museum of Childhood (Edinburgh) and the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Edinburgh also supports a number of theatres and production companies. Large touring shows are staged by King’s Theatre, Edinburgh Festival Theatre, and Edinburgh Playhouse.

Edinburgh is a major transport center in east central Scotland through road and rail routes that connect the city to the rest of Scotland and with England. There are also buses available here which connects through most of the parts in the city. The Edinburgh Airport too is scheduled to connect with many destinations in Europe. No doubt, property investment in UK’s favourite city is on the priority list of UK real estate buyers.

London has always been a top destination for global real estate investors. A recent survey by The Independent also adjudged the city as capital of the world, rivalling over 60 other global cities. The status of world’s capital was conferred after taking into consideration research related findings of population figures, financial markets, transport facilities, tourism trends and data relating to sports and arts events and transport.

Some months ago Urban land Institute (ULI) and Pricewaterhouse Coopers named London as the second top destination for real estate investment in its prestigious Trends in Real Estate® Europe 2007, report. According to the report, London was ranked second as an investment market offering the minimum investment risk creating best prospects for rental growth there by ensuring income growth. The report also highlights a strong “hold” market, 44 percent of the participants recommended holding office space in London; nearly 41 percent advised holding retail; and nearly 59 percent advised holding industrial/distribution space.

Both these surveys reinforce London’s leading position as the best city to invest and live in. No doubt, London is on the radar of every savvy global real estate investor.