CONTENTS FEBRUARY 2012


6 NEWSbeat House prices may not be going far in either direction but there’s


always movement in all the other aspects of the property industry. We have some of the top stories from the start of the new year.


10 PROPERTYdrum Events in 2012 There’s more news to share about the PROPERTYdrum National


Conference and Expo, along with the new B2B Awards; it is taking shape nicely for 2012 and we’d like you to join us!


14 Compare the market Base rates, exchange rates, different types of property from student


30


Social media: the answer,


or just a part of it?


Niche portals can work well for agents


20 14


lets to shopping malls, just how does residential property stack up as an investment in 2012?


20 A plethora of portals There are massive portals and there are smaller portals, which do you


choose? Andrea Kirkby investigates and there’s no doubt, some agents are finding that niche portals bring success too.


26 First time buyers Where are they? Asks Fritz Graves and should they be so reticent as


mortgage availability and incentives are on the increase?


COVER FEATURE 30 Driving traffic to your website Is Social Media the solution to building activity on your website?


We asked some of the UK’s top property technology experts just how large a part it plays.


35 UK millionaires still love property Yes it’s true, bricks-and-mortar is still considered the best place to


put your money. Or so the wealthy folk think.


36 New homes that match a memory PROPERTYdrum’s Editor had a special private ‘industrial’ playground, as a child in central London, now it has some gorgeous new homes on it, for sale through Hamptons International.


39 The PROPERTYdrum Shopfitting Challenge It’s the last part of the challenge and we wanted to see some great


design from our leading designers. They didn’t let us down!


Compare the market to find the best property investments


RESIDENTIALlettings


47 Lettings news Innovation, news and advice for those operating in the Private Rented


Sector, here is the latest!


52 Cut price proper ty It’s standard practice that a valuation of a let property is 90-95 per cent of its vacant possession value. But does it make sense? Jonathan Godfrey discusses the pros and cons.


26 4 FEBRUARY 2012 PROPERTYdrum


Where are the first time buyers?


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