Agents reveal top tips for finding growth potential

Posted: 23 Feb 2007 09:58:08 GMT

Seeing plenty of skips and scaffolding on the streets is a sure sign that an area is on the up, estate agents have said

Seeing plenty of skips and scaffolding on the streets is a sure sign that an area is on the up, estate agents have said.

The tip is among the top ways that agents say homeowners can identify neighbourhoods that are primed for growth, as revealed to a survey by ING Direct.

Alongside the obvious – improving school results, neighbourhood watch schemes – there are some less intuitive signs, such as the thickness of the local phone book.

Crowded public transport is another sure sign that an area is going through a growth period, as are ethnic foods in local shops and high numbers of traffic wardens.

"In order to qualify as having 'high growth potential', we estimate that an area must exhibit at least six of the ten signposts we have identified," said Lindsay Sinclair of ING Direct.

"Traffic wardens and more crowded public transport are not things you would normally welcome, but it appears that such annoyances do come with a silver lining."

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