SE20

£160k for waterlogged timber on a patch of mud: http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/9118996.High_priced_tale_of_Shoreham_riverbank/

"for free"? How does that work then? Surely businesses simply come to an arrangement with the owner or managing agents of empty premises? Or do you mean that the council is not collecting business rates?

Perhaps a key question is how often you'd want to go to London by train. If it's a lot, then I would suggest Haywards Heath is better than Reigate. Haywards Heath has one of the principal stations on the Brighton Main Line so there are huge numbers of trains to London (many more than from Reigate, and it takes roughly the same time). Also there are huge numbers of trains to Gatwick (journey time just 15 minutes). No idea about schools there I'm afraid.

This is off topic, but if anyone is ever after a general-purpose discussion forum for the Brighton area, it's at: http://livewire.forumco.com/

What do you mean, "on those streets"? They're all good streets

Wha-hey!! I'm in the money! B&H property prices have risen faster than anywhere else, so being a homeowner in Skidrow-on-Sea, I'm now even richer: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jun/01/house-prices-rise-land-registry Despite being a homeowner in Brighton, I'm not happy with house prices rocketing - I don't like the instability that property price fluctuations can cause. I'd actually like profits from property (even your main residence, not just second homes or BTLs) to be heavily taxed to dampen down wild fluctuations. Oh, and a plea from a friend of a friend of a (...many times removed...) friend (and sorry it's completely OT): http://cyclistneedshelp.blogspot.com/

Sorry, I do sometimes leap at people, and anyway it's strictly speaking it's not a Tory council - it's No Overall Control, but the Conservatives are the largest party. The current make-up is: Conservative 25 Green 13 Labour 13 Lib. Dem. 2 Independent 1 Source: http://present.brighton-hove.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?FN=PARTY&VW=LIST&PIC=0

Yes, clearly a cunning plan by the council to get the masses vote Labour on the basis of a few refurbished playgrounds. So, so clever of Labour to use mind control to make a TORY council to do their bidding.

Google Street View arriving in Brighton at last! http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/5049656.Brighton_and_Sussex_to_appear_on_Google_Street_View_this_Thursday/ Of course, there will always be a few people who'll say a photo of their house from a year ago is a monstrous invasion of privacy, down with this sort of thing etc. etc., but I think it's great!

Bizarre. I don't really know how to price flats, but I'd certainly not pay that if I had the money. To be honest, what really puts me off is the bright blue - it just hurts my eyes to look at that building. And if you're inside the flat, the view is of dull/ugly other buildings in the area.

I can vouch for it being easier to commute, at least by train. I used to commute in the early 1990s and it was awful then - trains were grubby and draughty, and there weren't even that many. I commuted again for most of last year and the trains have improved enormously: guaranteed seats, clean and comfortable (shame about the excessive on-board announcements), and there are vastly more trains now that they've extended the Gatwick Express. And above all there are tables so you can comfortably work on a laptop.

That's not grotty - they're nice houses along there. This one looks quite well cared for, and no total refurb needed - they just need to chuck out the chintz, and tart it up a bit. But you're right - 310 is over the top. 250-270 would be more like it.

Dave Gilmour from Pink Floyd has bought Eubank's ex's house in Medina Terrace, according to the Argus: http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/4711083.Pink_Floyd_star_buys_Hove_seafront_mansion/ It looks an impressive building judging by Microsoft's bird's eye view. I wish Google would hurry up and get Streetview finished for B&H so I can get a closer look.

Hope I'm not being simplistic, but could it be that terraced houses in Brighton are generally in better areas whereas semis and detached ones are generally in less desirable places, and now that those people who are buying have more of a choice than in boom times?

No, that's in the living room: http://lovelylisting.com/2009/08/flush-tha...dness-away.html

Ah yes, St. Margarets Place - the street where you're overshadowed by Sussex Heights: http://www.aboutmyplace.co.uk/showmap?mv=h....0&panx=0.0

News story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8191007.stm Are surveyors deliberately undervaluing property to avoid getting sued by lenders in case they overvalue a property by mistake? Or is this EA spin?

Anyone see the Grand Designs programme about a huge house in Withdean? By all accounts it was very watchable. Channel 4 page: http://www.channel4.com/4homes/on-tv/grand...-04-08_p_1.html Architects' page: http://mccareysimmonds.co.uk/data/?p=65

Interesting. If you don't mind me asking, what was the asking price, which street was it, what was it like inside?

Your wish is my command - here you are, with this query on Rightmove (houses within 1 mile of Brighton Station up to 200k): http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sa...p;x=67&y=10 The cheapest is £8,500 (OK, it's a beach hut, but as they say, "location, location and location").

Hope they know what they're doing. Let's do a quick calculation: Costs: 162k + buyer's premium (2k??) + refurbishment (30k??) + bits & pieces (5k??) Revenue: 170k at most for a place in an awful location ??

I'm puzzed as to why no sales volumes are shown for May or June - they must have them in order to calculate an average.

Maybe so that, when the agent gets an inquiry about a house, they say "I'm afraid that one's just gone" to make people think they need to get in there fast and bounce them into renting another place they weren't too keen on.

Perhaps another factor is they type of people who choose to live in Brighton - there's a fair proportion who are not living in the real world and just aren't being rational. You get these people who fall in love and move to Brighton no matter what the expense, when it's clear it makes no economic sense. This seems especially true of Londoners as Brighton prices appear cheap compared to what you get in Clapham or Crouch End or whatever. I can say these things being a Londoner and long-term Brighton resident. I have twice managed to buy property in Brighton near the top of the market (late-1980s, mid-2000s) while going through an emotional phase and convincing myself I could never live anywhere else. I reckon that some of the examples of insane pricing are from fantasists who can't believe that Brighton prices can go down. Also I reckon that other examples of insane pricing are from people trying to make a fast buck from addled Londoners who can't tell the difference between £250K and £350K.

Is the wiki still alive? I was thinking of adding things, but don't want it to be pointless.