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......

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.