Office Living.

With an oversupply of office buildings and a shortage of UK residential properties, many developers are increasingly taking the shrewd step of converting empty office blocks in to luxury residential homes. A number of schemes are currently taking place around the country, including central London and the suburbs.

Matt Oakely, head of commercial research at Savills says: "About 18% of office accommodation in the city (London) is unlet. "With little demand from tenants, rents have fallen by about 30%, so tenant companies can afford to move from secondary to primary sites."

Property prices rose marginally last month for the first time in eight months. Yet despite the supply of property continuing to outweigh demand, market slowdown maybe coming to an end, as a result 2005 may now be set for gentle gains, according to the National Association of Estate Agents.

"Come Easter, we expect to once again be witnessing gently rising property prices across much of the country," said Richard Hair, President of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).

Have a Bet on Ascot.

Speculative investors are buying up properties in York with the intention of letting them out for at a high premium rate during Royal Ascot week. New city housing developments are proving immensely popular amongst investors, who hope to be able to let them out for as much as £6000 during Ascot week (June), according to local reports.

Local estate agents predict that York's hotels could soon be fully booked. Therefore with more than 50,000 spectators expected to attend the event each day, some visitors will be looking to the rental market for properties that are within walking distance of the course and available on a short-let of one week.

Jo Pearson, investment sales manager for Knight Frank, said: "Some buy to let investors are particularly attracted by the premium rate achievable during Ascot week. Accommodation will be in high demand and available at all sorts of rates."

However last November, Andrew Lindsay, president of York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, warned that homeowners hoping to benefit financially from Ascot were unrealistic.

We Must Support First-Time Buyers.

Nationwide has welcomed the Labour Party's pledge to help first time buyers, however the building society believes that there is more that can be done. Nationwide has called on lenders to withdraw the Higher Lending Charge for first time buyers as this would enable many to put additional capital towards their deposit. Regarding affordability, Nationwide believes that all lenders should consider borrowers' outgoings in addition to income in order to get a realistic picture of how much a buyer can afford to repay. While Nationwide believes that Stamp Duty should be reviewed, so that either the threshold is raised or struggling first time buyers are made exempt.

Nationwide's executive director, Stuart Bernau, said: "It is in everybody's interest that first time buyers are able to get a foot on the housing ladder. To keep the market healthy and buoyant we need a diverse range of buyers and sellers. There are a number of ways the Government and the financial services industry could help first time buyers."

Strong Demand for New-Build in Nottingham.

Lace Market Properties' Litmus development in Huntingdon Street, which will eventually become Nottingham's largest privately-funded apartment complex, has already sold more than two-thirds of the 296 apartments available in the 13-storey building, despite the fact that construction of the land mark building has not even started yet. The development will also feature car parking, a gymnasium, swimming pool, sauna and steam rooms.

A number of apartment schemes in the city have been built in recent years due to high demand from investors, many of whom have been buying large numbers of apartments 'off plan' for a discount and selling on at significant profits on completion.

"This level of investment shows confidence from all over the world in not only Lace Market Properties, but in Litmus as a first class scheme, the huge regeneration project it is part of Nottingham as a city," said Mark Elliott, managing director of Lace Market Properties.