Location: United Kingdom
Big annual rise in tenancies but void periods “creeping in” – W.A.Ellis
            PCL agency W.A.Ellis has reported a beefy 50% leap in the number of tenancies it agreed last year (compared to 2012), although rents only increased by 2.8% overall (0.4% less than than in 2012).        
    Property market confidence hits four-year high
            Homeowners are, apparently, even more bullish about house prices than most property "experts", forecasting a 7.        
    How to design a super-prime spa
            If you are going to take the plunge and include a spa in your new scheme, make sure you thoroughly understand the target audience and do it properly, says Sheila McCusker...
 A recent project in Belgravia
        
    Blanket HS2 compulsory purchase letters cause “a great deal of anxiety”
            15,000 home-owners have apparently been sent a letter that suggests that their properties will be subject to a  Compulsory Purchase Order to make way for the HS2 rail link.
        
    Demanding Times: Ten buyers chasing each property for sale – Countrywide
            Demand is outstripping supply by a factor of ten, as an average of 9.7 buyers chased each property for sale in November, according to Countrywide.
That's up from 8.        
    Executive role for D&G’s Ed Mead
            Douglas & Gordon's Ed Mead is taking on a new role as Executive Director of the agency.
 Mead. D&G front man, FRICS, PrimeResi contributor
        
    RICS launches new residential forum
            RICS London is launching a residential forum to complement its existing Commercial Property Market Forum, and has made a couple of "important new leadership appointments" to make it all happen:
        
    Empire Builders 1750-1950: The Brits Who Built the Modern World
            Forming part of the "Brits Who Built the Modern World" season, this newish display at the V&A - the first part of a major exhibition organised by the Royal Institute of British Architects - is well worth…        
    Developing Market: 10% of Chelsea buyers are developers
            International buyers accounted for 56.5% of Chelsea specialist Russell Simpson's sales last year, while nearly three quarters of new tenants were from overseas.
        
    London’s £5m+ market climbs 24%, but under-performs the rest of prime
            London's £5m+ market broke all the records for volume and value in 2013, says Savills, but price growth at the top of the top-end was slower than the capital's prime market's average, and per square foot…        
    Objects of Desire #2: Trophy property and the headless investment
            The heart over-rules the head for many buyers of 'Billionaire Property' says Stephen Rees, Head of Real Estate Advisory at Coutts, in the second part of the bank's Objects of Desire report into passion…        
    Strong finish for D&G as December activity spiked
            December kicked right off in Douglas & Gordon's patch, with a 50% increase in the number of properties hitting the market, a 20% jump in new buyer registrations and a 40% hike in the number of offers received.