London 'set for house price boom'

The Olympics could trigger a fresh house price boom in the capital

London house prices could be set for bumper rises following the announcement that the city will host the Olympics in 2012, the Halifax has said.

The bank found the last four Olympic cities experienced rapid house price growth in the run-up to the games.

Barcelona, Sydney and Athens all saw house prices rise by more than 50% in the five years before the games.

Halifax said properties in Hackney and Stratford could benefit most from Olympic-fuelled price growth.

Land sales

Overall, house price inflation in the past four Olympic cities has outstripped the national averages.

HOUSE PRICE RISES IN OLYMPIC CITIES 1992: Barcelona +131% (Spain +83%) 1996: Atlanta +19% (USA +13%) 2000: Sydney +50% (Australia +39%) 2004: Athens +63% (Greece +55%) Source: Halifax (Rises over the five years prior to the games) London beats Paris to Olympics

According to one London estate agency the price of land in the east end of the capital, near the proposed Olympic site, could rise soon.

"Almost overnight any land that can be developed will go," Dan McLeod of estate agency Atkinson McLeod told BBC News.

"This is the best news for the property market in this area for years," he added.

"Since the announcement, we have already had calls from investors asking about properties to develop in the east end."

House price inflation in the UK and London has slowed over the past year following the five increases in interest rates between November 2003 and August last year.