Location: East of England

"The story for 2013 is about sales volume, not pricing growth," says a new report from Christie's International Real Estate and Strutt & Parker, as median prices in three of the world's top luxury destinations…

A merger has been announced between Essex-based housebuilder Countryside and luxury developer Millgate.

The much-touted "ripple effect" looks  to be well and truly underway in the south of England, with Savills recording a 1.5% uplift in average prime regional values in the three months to December.

Super-prime developer Oliver Burns has named a new addition to its Hertfordshire-based team, in the form of a new lead architect.

Average rents across the country rose by 2% in 2013 in "a year of rebalancing as the economy recovers," according to Countrywide's annual lettings index.

Originally intended as both a palatial country house and an advertisement for the quality of the local stone, Prior Park remains one of the country's finest examples of Georgian architecture.

A BBC investigation has claimed that £1.5 billion of Section 106 money remains "unspent" by English councils, with a whopping £421m yet to even be allocated to anything.

"The London influence on the rest of the UK remains weak," says Jackson-Stops & Staff, which has led to two very distinct markets emerging from the economic woes of the last five years.

Egerton Crescent in South Kensington has been given the title of "Nation's Most Expensive Address" by Lloyds Bank for the second year running, with an average sale price of £7,369,000.

You didn't happen to show a Kazakh millionaire called "Oleg Duchenko" around any properties in 2013 did you? Chauffeured Bentley, dark glasses, heavy Eastern European accent? No? Phew...

2013 was a truly vintage year for vintage property.

Savills' Prime London Index posted a +2.9% rise in Q4, taking annual price growth to 11.