Property market out of flavour...but 4.25 to 1.25 that is an over reaction surely!

Lancaster Gate - dubbed the Lancasters is one of their projects in London. Are property prices falling in London...

From The Sunday Times
February 17, 2008
Super-rich snap up apartments in world's most expensive residential scheme

RECESSION, what recession? The super-rich are snapping up apartments at the world's most expensive residential scheme at Londons One Hyde Park as if they were going out of fashion.

According to data released exclusively to The Sunday Times, half of the 80 apartments at the luxury scheme designed by Richard Rogers have already been contracted to be sold even though the project will not be completed until 2010. Knight Frank, one of the estate agents handling the Knightsbridge development, said sales already totalled more than 500m and the average apartment price had reached 20m.

Wealthy oil barons, Russian oligarchs and hedge-fund managers are shelling out at prices that break down to almost 6,000 per square foot for the chance to own one of the apartments. That figure is up from 4,000 per square foot in late 2006.

The sales reflect Londons status as a global city, with 39% of the buyers hailing from Russia, 25% from the Middle East, 14% from Britain and 11% from continental Europe. The highest price paid for an apartment at the scheme is rumoured to be more than 100m. The interiors are the work of Candy & Candy, the interior design company run by Nick and Christian Candy, two brothers in their early thirties who have become multi-millionaires by creating fantasy homes for people with limitless budgets.

The site will have an underground passage to the nearby Mandarin Oriental hotel, where staff will be on hand to cater to residents needs.

CPC, the Guernsey-based investment company owned by Christian Candy, has an equity stake of more than a third in One Hyde Park. The scheme is also backed by Sheikh Hamad bin Jasim Jaber al-Thani, foreign minister of the Gulf state of Qatar.

Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank, said sales of so-called super-prime homes in London worth 10m or above had more than doubled in the three months to the end of January compared with the same period last year.

He said: It is quite extraordinary the way the super-prime market has continued to surge ahead. Sales of homes worth 1m-5m have slowed, but once you get above 5m, and certainly above 10m, they are still powering ahead.

property shares expected to sink further beware.

Maybe halifax I'm not much good with property shares but @6p they are a gamble that they may manage to sell one of their sites.

Too many half built offices, too much debt, too few potential occupants.

doomsday already priced in

At 6p this must be n ear the bottom.

certainly looks like near the bottom, price now moved up to 7p

holding around the 7p still

Edging up.

Don't know what to make of this.

Pursuant to paragraph 3.1.4R(1) of the Disclosure Rules, Minerva plc (the 'Company') hereby discloses that, on 31 March 2009, the Company received written notification from Oliver Whitehead, Chairman of the Company that, on 30 March 2009, he purchased 314,573 ordinary shares of 25 pence each in the capital of the Company, at a price of 6.99 pence per ordinary share.

He sold the other month @10p he has bought the same quatity back @6.99p.

His purchase does not seem to have had much effect on the SP

Massive 22k investment - wow!

Maybe he is trying to push up the SP with his pocket money investment before bailing out again.

Anyhow it seems to have done the trick.

Yes, maybe I should have put my pocket money in yesterday

steady as she goes...(up for a change!)

I put my babysitting money in.

Watch him cash in if, and when the SP rises a few pence.

Sold all my ex wifes stuff on ebay, maybe I will invest this money.

A 10 bagger if they manage to survive the recession.