The property market in London’s Docklands, an area that typifies “boom and bust” better than anywhere else in the country, is finally waking up several months after the rest of the capital. Buyers, who took fright after the collapse of Lehman Brothers last autumn, have been returning to snap up flats in prestigious new developments at a fraction of their original price.

Bargain hunters include first-time buyers, those seeking a pied à terre in London and foreign students studying at the Greenwich and Queen Mary universities. Most are buying property for themselves, helping to allay fears that the recession would turn Docklands into a graveyard of empty high-rise buildings.

The property market in London’s Docklands, an area that typifies “boom and bust” better than anywhere else in the country, is finally waking up several months after the rest of the capital. Buyers, who took fright after the collapse of Lehman Brothers last autumn, have been returning to snap up flats in prestigious new developments at a fraction of their original price.

Bargain hunters include first-time buyers, those seeking a pied à terre in London and foreign students studying at the Greenwich and Queen Mary universities. Most are buying property for themselves, helping to allay fears that the recession would turn Docklands into a graveyard of empty high-rise buildings.

The property market in London’s Docklands, an area that typifies “boom and bust” better than anywhere else in the country, is finally waking up several months after the rest of the capital. Buyers, who took fright after the collapse of Lehman Brothers last autumn, have been returning to snap up flats in prestigious new developments at a fraction of their original price.

Bargain hunters include first-time buyers, those seeking a pied à terre in London and foreign students studying at the Greenwich and Queen Mary universities. Most are buying property for themselves, helping to allay fears that the recession would turn Docklands into a graveyard of empty high-rise buildings......

The proportion reporting rises in house prices rather than falls rose to its highest level in September since the onset of the credit crunch.

But the picture is different in certain parts of the country, a poll for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) found.

Prices have been most buoyant in the south of England, the survey showed.......

UK house prices rose for the third consecutive month in September and showed the first quarterly increase for two years, according to the Halifax.

The average home rose in value by 1.6% in September compared with the previous month, to £163,533.

And prices in the three months to September increased by 2.8% compared with the previous quarter.

The Halifax, now part of Lloyds Banking Group, said that increased demand and a lack of supply were key to the rise......

UK house prices have now recovered to the same level as a year ago, according to the latest Nationwide figures.

The average price of a home last month was equal to September 2008, it said.