Oh and Liverpool as well, being City of Culture an 'all. Are they are in a north African river?

From Habitus website...

Certain areas of Manchester are immune to property turmoil, claims one industry insider...

Stephen Hogg, a partner at King Sturge Residential, recently stated: "Even if the worst property crisis ever to hit in the history of man happens this year, people will still want to live in Chepstow House and the Century Buildings in Manchester."

Mr Hogg also suggested that the suburbs which do have good transport links will also be safe from any general property slowdown, stating: "Places with the tram link into Manchester, such as Didsbury and Altrincham, will be in the best position to hold their values."

As well as Manchester, the rest of the north has plenty of 'bomb proof' property spots, the paper notes, comprising other commuter areas such as Wetherby in Yorkshire (ideally situated for commuters into Bradford and Leeds), places with large student populations (good for buy-to-let) and scenic areas such as the Lake District (where second homes go for millions), all providing such insurance against a slowing market.

Market still buoyant

Last month Ian Perry of City South Developments forecast that a whole range of new developments would keep the pot bubbling.

He told the Manchester Evening News: "The continued revitalisation of east Manchester, MediaCity, Metrolink expansion and the potential for many new corporates to be basing themselves in the city, means the market is still buoyant here, much more than other regional capitals."

Last month the Independent listed Liverpool as one of the likely 2008 property hotspots due to the major, though ephemeral, splat of its European Capital of Culture status. However it seems that many places in the north have more permanent and lasting appeals which should ensure, whichever half of the country does best or worst in leaner economic times, that the hotspots stay hot.

He's right in as much as people will always want to live in Didsbury but even in Estate Agent speak its a bit of a stretch to say it has tram links. I guess if you are an EA you just can't help yourself lying!

all those student BTLs in places where the builders and universities are knocking up purpose built accommodation blocks instead of renting terraced houses must be very surprised at that then.

As for Century and Chepstow, hmmmmm...... - I wonder if they will be any different from the dreaded White Elephant Tower.

Chorlton in Manchester is very desirable.

The bars are all being robbed at gunpoint
http://www.manchesterconfidential.com/inde...on_under_attack

Aaah,Chorlton. Its proximity to shiteholes like Levenshulme and Longsight (oh no, I forgot, they are now 'sought after areas') has caught up with it.

Didsbury won't be hit as badly as most, its probably the most desirable place in South Manchester, unless you start going Cheshire way. If Manc sinks though, it won't be immune.

The city centre is toast, no matter what the EAs say.

As for Liverpool, South End posh spots, like the old gated parks, Fulwood, Cressington, and Grassendale will always be okay, as will be bits of Woolton and Calderstones.

The interesting ones would be the city centre places, the old Georgian mansions which where squats until the recent HPI. All those gentrified cobbled streets around the cathedral could very quickly turn back into blues houses and brothels.

Chorlton is nowhere near Levenshulme or Longsight.

I suppose you have the students in Fallowfield acting as a buffer zone between the robbing scallies and the young professionals. Less than ten mins drive in a hotwired car......

To be fair kh1234567890 (catchy) I'd expect Hulme and Moss Side to be demonised in the same breath as praising fashionable Chorlton not Longsight and L'hulme, along with maybe Whalley Range and Old Trafford. Same thing happened in West Didsbury a year or so ago, load of bars/restarants robbed at gunpoint. http://www.southmanchesterreporter.co.uk/n...e_sitting_ducks - car found burned out in Longsight

As to Didsbury not crashing, there's still a huge gulf btween rents and prices so if Manc crashes, they'll all crash. Tram? Does that mean Shameless Stretford won't crash?

Moss Side - too easy to demonise, everyone knows its a shithole. Hulme is full of young professionals now, dontcha know. I moved from there about 18 months ago - despite CCTV and a gated complex, we still got at least one car broken into every night on the car park.

Levenshulme and Longsight are equally as grim, IMO but have been so ramped as up and coming by EAs, many folk who would not have fallen for the waffle if it were about Moss Side have believed it about Longsight. One of my former colleagues was desparate enough to buy there and regretted it severely.

I wouldn't entertain buying in OT, but for different reasons....

There are a few of us (young professionals) in hulme but I'd say we're in a minority, even over the Stretford Rd side where I live - large numbers in social housing, students and more recently "economic migrants". Crime is an issue anywhere with an M postcode so I'm no longer overly concerned about the Hulme connotations - 4yrs and not been driven out yet

Eastlands is another sh*thole. So is the housing.

Oh, I'm not of the blue persuasion...I do hate United though

Eastlands (Beswick/Openshaw) is grimsville. Last time I drove though it (at speed, lest I lose my alloys) they were slinging up new build flats for fun, though. They'll make a lovely pension for some entrepreneur.

I was on the other side of the bridge. I liked living there a lot, got a bit fecked off at having to replace rear windows in the car and 1k a year car insurance premium.....

Our flats were pretty nice (and cheap - god bless ya, Irish off plan investors) but the flats were less than 40% occupied so a bit of a magnet for the local car thief.

Speaking from experience ?

Fallowfield is a terrible place to live in. Infested with students, crime everywhere, hardly any posh people or immigrants. Things here are getting worse - it must be over a year since we had a car on fire and 15 years since the last gun battle in our cul-de-sac. No fun anymore. Too many policemen on the streets.

Public transport is overpriced and unreliable - 80p and sometimes I have to wait more than five minutes for a bus into town. Driving out is a nightmare - it takes me good five minutes to get to the motorway. No decent overpriced little shops, lovely seedy country pubs, parks full of druggies and perverts, bad schools, suburbia etc. etc. either.

And if I decided to sell my detached Victorian mansion and asked a ridiculously high price, I'd probably have to wait at least a week to sell it for cash. Can't wait for the HPC to sort things out.

Jesus, put your handbag away. I suggest you don't post at 3 am when you've had a few scoops. Nobody dissed lovely Fallowfield.

From that Chorlton news article about the pubs being robbed...



Well that gives some comfort in most people still having honesty and integrity.

I once went out for a few drinks one evening in Chorlton back in 1991.... it was a pub with a big green outside where people sat on the grass (Chorlton Green maybe?).

We got in to some discussion about money and this young idealist hippy type fella got involved and started telling us money didn't mean anything - that it was a conspiracy of the system. He'd just been paid, got out his pay-packet, and to prove his commitment to his cause he took a lighter to £20 notes in front of us (about £100 quids worth). People lit their cigarettes on the burning £20 notes as they burnt away to nothing.

MCR property is "bombproof"? Slightly poor taste from the VI ramper there, methinks.