Estate agents have seen a leap of 35.4 per cent in new listings.

The rush to sell is also being fuelled by concerns the coalition Government plans to target buy-to-let investors by raising capital gains tax. 

The decision to suspend the packs, which cost hundreds of pounds, means sellers can once more list their home with an estate agent ‘on spec’.

Property website Rightmove and Countrywide, the UK’s largest chain of estate agents, have seen a 34 per cent increase in listings for the week after the announcement that HIPs were to be scrapped.

Rightmove’s commercial director, Miles Shipside, said: ‘We would expect to see a post-election pick-up as people have been put off by the uncertainty of the election recently.

‘However 35 per cent is a significant increase in new listings and indicates many more speculative sellers have been encouraged to bring their properties to market since HIPs were scrapped.

‘It seems the additional cost and red tape were putting sellers off.’

Meanwhile, the Government is understood to be planning to increase CGT from 18 to 40 per cent, however any change is unlikely to come into effect until next April

Looking at this house you could be forgiven for thinking the world had turned upside down.

Standing on a pointed roof and supported by steel beams in the attic, the house amazes neighbours  and passers-by alike.

And inside the front door things are even weirder – everything from the bathroom to the fruit bowl on the kitchen table are hanging over head.

The 23ft-tall house has an upside-down kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom.  It was also built on a slight incline to challenge the viewer’s perspective still further.

This bizarre upside down house was created on the grounds of a German zoo. The roof is reinforced with steel girders

Thankfully the topsy-turvy building was not designed to be lived in. Instead it was created for a local zoo in Gettorf, Germany.

Local carpenter Gerhard Mordhorst and his colleagues Gesellse Splettstößer and Manfred Kolax put the unusual building together.

‘It was a challenge for us,’ Mr Mordhorst said.

‘You had to constantly think of the mirror image.’

They described the job as the ‘craziest’ one they had been asked to do and found the bathroom the trickiest to put together because of bulky items like the shower.

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A confused visitor checks out the kitchen and bathroom inside the unusual 40-tonne wooden house in Gettorf

In total they screwed 50 separate pieces into the floor-ceiling, including beds, tables, a microwave and pictures. The heaviest piece of furniture was a 100lb wardrobe with mirror.

The men spent months to perfect every little detail and even took to needle and thread to keep the bed linen in place. But Mr Splettstößer said their pains were worth it.

‘It’s a nice feeling, so to make something unique,’ he said.

The zoo owners hope the house will give visitors a ‘totally new perspective on a familiar view.’

A meal down under: All the dining room utensils had to be stuck on individually.

The ‘crazy house’ is reminiscent of a home described in Roald Dahl’s children’s book The Twits. In the children’s story a group of monkeys are forced to hang upside down by their owners. They have their revenge by sticking all of the couple’s furniture to the ceiling and convince them to stand on their heads.

The ‘crazy’ house was thought up by Hamburg investor Dirk Oster. He will open it to the public on March 30.

Buy-to-let mortgages are starting to return to borrowing limits last seen before the credit crunch.

Before the financial crisis, you could get a buy-to-let mortgage with a 10-15 per cent deposit. But once the credit clampdown started, lenders wanted at least a 25 per cent deposit, and some demanded far more.

While it’s still difficult to get a new buy-to-let mortgage, there are an increasing number of lenders willing to dip their toes into the buy-to-let remortgage market.

Fee-free mortgage broker London & Country is offering a three-year fixed rate of 6.49 per cent, with a fee of £995 on a maximum loan-to-value of 80 per cent. The mortgage deal, which is being funded by the Saffron Building Society, means monthly repayments of £1,012 on a £150,000 repayment loan or £811 on an interest-only basis. 

Other lenders are also becoming more welcoming towards buy-to-let borrowers. Nottingham Building Society has improved the loan-to-value up to 70 per cent on its buy-to-let mortgage for both remortgage and purchase.

It has also improved the rate – its three-year fixed rate is now 5.59 per cent compared with its previous rate of 5.89 per cent (which went to 65 per cent LTV). On a £150,000 home loan, that means monthly repayments of £699 interest-only or £929 repayment.

David Hollingsworth, of London & County, adds: ‘We are seeing the first concerted push to wake up the buy-to-let mortgage market – particularly on lending criteria.’

Platform, part of Co- Op/Britannia, sliced up to 0.3 per cent off its buy-to-let fixed rates this week.

Home ownership has plunged to its lowest level for nearly two decades, official figures revealed yesterday.

The research highlights the nightmare of millions of Britons, particularly the young, who may never be able to afford to buy their own home.

Just 67.9 per cent of English households own their home, the lowest percentage since 1991, according to the Government’s English Housing Survey.

Buyers are being crippled by the combination of soaring house prices, modest salaries and a mortgage drought which many fear is going to get worse.

Experts warned yesterday that many people should accept that home ownership was a dream which will never become a reality.

Tory housing spokesman Grant Shapps said: ‘Home ownership is falling under Labour, with the lowest number of first-time buyers since 1974 and fewer homes being built than at any time since 1946.

‘The Government’s housing policy has been exposed as a failure.’

As the level of ownership has plunged, the number of people forced to rent has soared.

Since 2001, an extra one million households in England are privately renting, taking the number to three million, according to the authoritative survey.

Nearly 60 per cent of those renting privately said they hoped to be able to buy in the future.

But Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, warned millions of Britons must accept that they may be

‘permanent renters’. She said: ‘It is sad to say that while we would all like a Porsche and a month in Rio each year, some of us have to make do with a Toyota and a week in Majorca.

‘Similarly, for many, home ownership will remain an aspiration.’

Yesterday’s research comes after housing minister John Healey was criticised for saying he was ‘not sure’ that a fall in home ownership was ‘such a bad thing’.

Mr Healey added: ‘ Fundamentally, we need more affordable homes.’

He said Labour would invest more than £7.5billion over the next two years to build more affordable homes to buy or rent, and to help first-time buyers onto the housing ladder.

House prices will rise more than six per cent during 2010 and will be around 20 per cent higher than today’s levels by the end of 2013, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

The CEBR has revised up its housing forecasts thanks to an improvement in availability of mortgages and more loan approvals. It also believes that interest rates will stay at 0.5 per cent until at least mid-2011.

Though it thinks rising unemployment and cuts in public sector spending will keep the lid on the market in 2011, it expects an overall shortage of homes will push prices up further in the following years.

Scarce: House prices will keep rising due to a shortage of supply, says the CEBR

However, Hometrack’s monthly housing survey showed a rise of just 0.1 per cent in January, suggesting this year has got off to a slow start.

Mortgage lending jumped by 14 per cent during December as people rushed to buy a home before the Government’s stamp duty holiday ended, figures showed today.

A total of £13.7 billion was advanced during the month, up from £12.1 billion in November, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said.

Lending was also 3 per cent higher than it was in December 2008, the first time the annual comparison has been positive since October 2007.

The CML said the figure was ‘surprisingly strong’ for December, when lending is usually down on November’s level as the housing market slows down ahead of Christmas.

It attributed the rise to increased demand as people buying properties costing up to £175,000 rushed to complete their purchases before the threshold at which stamp duty kicks in returned to £125,000 at the beginning of this year.

CML economist Paul Samter said: ‘Evidence suggests that the rise was driven by a surge in house purchase completions as remortgaging still remains exceptionally weak. 

‘The most likely explanation is that buyers of cheaper property wanted to complete their transactions before the end of the year to beat the end of the stamp duty holiday.’

He warned that if there had been a ‘bunching’ in sales as people rushed to beat the deadline, there could be a larger than usual drop-off in lending in the early part of this year.

A total of £143.7 billion was advanced during the whole of 2009, 43 per cent down on 2008, and the lowest annual figure since 2000.

However, lending for the year was slightly ahead of the CML’s forecast of £141 billion.

The group expects a gradual improvement in lending levels during the latter part of this year.

Mr Samter said: ‘With a gradual pick-up in economic growth and wider access to credit, 2010 will almost certainly be a better year in the mortgage market than 2009.’

The number of mortgages approved has more than doubled during the past year as the property market continues to recover, figures showed today.

A total of 60,518 loans for people buying a new home were in the pipeline during November, the highest level since March 2008 and more than double the record low of 27,162 seen in November of that year.

Net lending, which strips out redemptions and repayments, also increased for the third month in a row to stand at £1.46 billion, a level last seen in February, according to the Bank of England.

Britain’s beleaguered factory bosses were also given a lift today after a survey reported the sector’s best month for two years during December.

The Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply’s (CIPS) headline activity index – where a score over 50 registers growth – reached 54.1, up from 51.8 in November and much better than the 52 forecast by City economists.

The average reading for the fourth quarter of 2009 was also the highest since the end of 2007, fuelling hopes that the UK exited recession in the period.

The improvement in mortgage lending has been driven by increased activity on the housing front, as recent price rises tempt both buyers and sellers back to the market.

Hetal Mehta, senior economic adviser to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club, said: ‘An acceleration in mortgage approvals and higher mortgage lending bodes well for housing market prospects, but it is unlikely to be sufficient to sustain the rapid price increases seen over the second half of 2009.

‘Supply pressures are likely to abate as the price increases encourage more people to put their properties on the market, and with unemployment continuing to rise, demand will remain weak.’

But unsecured lending contracted for the fifth month in a row as consumers continued to focus on paying down their debts.

People repaid £376m more of unsecured debt than they borrowed during November, slightly down on October’s net repayment of £591m, but nearly double the level seen during the past six months.

The Bank of England also reported that the number of people remortgaging remained broadly unchanged during November at 24,897, although this was still down on the recent six-month average of just over 29,000 as homeowners continued to sit tight.

Meanwhile, figures from the Building Societies Association showed that mortgage lending by mutuals contracted for the 11th month in a row during November.

Building society mortgage customers repaid £543m more than they borrowed during the month.

The sector also suffered on the savings front, with customers withdrawing £775 million more than they deposited, the ninth consecutive month this has happened.

Adrian Coles, director general of the BSA, warned that mortgage lending was likely to remain ‘relatively depressed’ during 2010 until funding conditions for lenders improved further and more homes came on to the market.

On savings, he said building societies and other deposit takers continued to face heightened competition from institutions with a Government guarantee, which was distorting the savings market.

House prices rose by 5.9 per cent in 2009 as the UK property market bounced back from last year’s double digit declines.

The average cost of a UK home rose by another 0.4 per cent in December to £162,103, marking the eighth consecutive month of price increases, according to Nationwide Building Society.

The performance in 2009 is a surprise turnaround on the hefty 15.9 per cent price plunge in 2008 and comes despite the worst recession in the UK since World War Two.

Market on the mend: The average cost of a home rose by 0.4 per cent in December to £162,103, marking the eighth consecutive month of price increases

Today’s figures see the past decade end on a high note for the UK property sector which had been hammered last year by the credit crunch and the banking crisis.

And Nationwide said the past decade was the strongest on record for British house prices in spite of the woes of 2008.

Ten-year figures show property values rose by 117 per cent since the end of 1999. Even with inflation taken into account, the average home increased by 68 per cent in value compared with a 14 per cent fall in real terms in the 1990s.

Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide’s chief economist, said the increase in house prices this year ‘surprised most commentators’.

He added: ‘Few could have foreseen this development at the start of the year, when the near term price trend was still pointing to a repeat of the double digit annual decline experienced in 2008.

‘Although house prices are still 12.2 per cent lower than their October 2007 cyclical peak, they have now rebounded by an impressive 8.9 per cent since their February 2009 trough.’  

But the picture for 2010 is unclear, with a recent slowdown in price rises raising concerns over the sustainability of the market recovery.

December’s 0.4 per cent rise is significantly below the hikes of up to 1.4 per cent recorded in the summer.

Three month on three month growth rates – generally considered to be a smoother indicator of the underlying trend – also eased during December to 2.1 per cent from 2.8 per cent in November.

The past year was buoyed by ‘pent-up demand’ as cash buyers not restrained by the credit drought entered the market, Nationwide said.

Record low interest rates, a smaller-than-feared increase in unemployment together with recent stabilisation in the banking sector and signs of an economic recovery also acted as a boost.

While interest rates are expected to remain low well into 2010, there is uncertainty over the labour market and whether cash buyers can continue to support housing demand.

Mr Gahbauer said: ‘This year’s recovery has to some extent been driven by transitory factors and there are reasons to believe that it will lose momentum over the coming year.

‘At the same time, there is no obvious catalyst on the near-term horizon that would trigger significant renewed falls in prices.

‘At this stage, therefore, it seems likely that 2010 will see no significant house price movements in either direction.’

The group’s figures show that London saw the strongest growth throughout 2009, with the average home in the capital now costing £276,088 – seven per cent more than it did a year ago.

Northern Ireland was the worst performing region, with prices falling 6.7 per cent to £137,949.

Carlisle in Cumbria was the best performing of all the UK towns and cities in 2009, with prices soaring by ten per cent to £136,666.

Leicester suffered opposite fortunes, with home prices down nine per cent to £141,643.

Over the past decade, Wales notched up the biggest rise in house values, with an 82 per cent hike in real terms, after inflation.

England saw the weakest growth in the noughties after prices increased by 65 per cent, said Nationwide.

With a new album on the horizon and a baby clamped to her side, the last thing singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor needed this year was a major property renovation project.

But that’s exactly what she has faced – and conquered – in an action-packed 2009.

‘It sounds like a stressful combination of things to be doing at the same time, but that is how I have always lived my life,’ says the star.

After selling their threebedroom Victorian townhouse off Ladbroke Grove in London’s trendy Notting Hill in September for a reported £1.3 million, Sophie and her Feeling guitarist husband Richard Jones, bought a dilapidated five-bedroom Victorian Arts and Crafts style property in Turnham Green near Chiswick in West London.

‘Parts of the house were pretty much a shell,’ says Sophie. ‘When we first visited there were no floorboards – it was hard-hat territory.

‘The previous owner had been there for 60 years and just lived downstairs so there was no central heating and only sporadic electrics.

‘So that has all been gutted and updated and a rear exterior outhouse has been replaced with a modern extension, but I can’t take credit for the building work as a contractor was already involved when we exchanged.’

Inside, however, Sophie – who is appearing in a celebrity online video advent calendar in support of Great Ormond Street Hospital this year (www.merrychristmas.co.uk) – has been more hands on.

‘I love Fifties fashion and bright colours – the TV show Mad Men was a big influence. There is a dark navy room, powder blues and greens and lots of rich Fifties shades,’ says Sophie, right, whose big hit was Murder On The Dancefloor.

‘There is a fine line between creating something that’s stimulating and something that looks like a children’s TV set, but hopefully we’ve pulled that off.

‘We are just relieved that it is finished before Christmas.’

Spread the news: Jude Law has moved into a converted church in New York

JUDE LAW IS ON THE MOVE IN MANHATTAN

Serial womaniser Jude Law, above, has moved into a converted church in New York’s Greenwich village while he plays Shakespeare’s Hamlet on Broadway.

The three-bedroom penthouse is worth £4.2 million and comes complete with vaulted ceilings and glass stairs, but is just a short-term rental for Law who still lives in the five-bedroom townhouse he bought in Maida Vale, North London, for £3.5million last year.

The church has been divided into five units and he is not the only celebrity in the block – other tenants include Sopranos actor Stephen Van Zandt and Marks & Spencer underwear model Noemie Lenoir.

A BEACH BALL FOR DAVID WALLIAM

Comedian David Walliams has had his offer accepted for a £1.85 million four-bedroom detached house in the celebrity hangout of Western Esplanade – at the end of Hove promenade.

His immediate neighbours in the road will include Norman Cook and Zoe Ball, Heather Mills, actor Nick Berry, TV presenter Susan Stranks and astrologer June Penn.

The three-storey detached turreted property forms part of the terrace built at the beginning of the 20th Century with each house having its own private beach, perfect for Walliams, 38, who famously swam the English Channel for charity in 2006.

WILL JIM DAVIDSON SEE THE FUNNY SIDE?

Comic Jim Davidson may not be smiling when he finds out how much his old house is worth.

Jim had a torrid time trying to sell Pinkhurst Farm in the heart of the stockbroker belt in 2004. He put it on the market for £4million but accepted £2.5million in 2006, which barely cleared his £2.2 million mortgage.

Kicking himself:  Jim Davidson’s former home, Pinkhurst Farm was sold for £2.5m in 2006, and is now worth £12m

Now, after a turbulent time for the property market, the six-bedroom 16th Century house, right, on the Okewood Hills Estate near Guildford is back on the market through Hamptons (01483 572864) – for £12 million.

Sitting in 21 acres, with a guest cottage, pool and paddocks, the property has had a £5million facelift, including a gravel drive that cost £280,000.

Since selling, Davidson, 55, moved to sunnier climes where prices are heading in a different direction – Dubai.

There really is no room to swing a cat but this two-bedroom house just 66 inches wide is set to sell for more than half a million pounds.

The property in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, on the market for £549,950, has been described as one of the skinniest houses in Britain.

And estate agents are using that feature as its selling point.  

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Thin but pricey: The entire house measures just 5ft 6ins wide

The house on Goldhawk Road has five levels – a lower ground, ground, first, second and third floor, with 1,000sq ft of space. 

It looks set to record a good price as a shortage of stock across London and low interest rates continue to drive prices up.

The advertised price is £61,450 more than what it was sold for three years ago.

Estate agent Simon Beatson, of Faron Sutaria which is selling the property, said he expected a great deal of interest in the thin home.

The dining area: The house features sought-after parquet flooring throughout

The sitting room: The house has been refurbished in a cool, minimalist style

He said: ‘I have never seen a house like this – it really is skinny, but that adds to its charm.

‘It certainly is one of the thinnest homes in the country.’  Mr Beatson said the second floor could be divided to create a third bedroom if the new owners’ wished.

He said he expected a couple or a single person to buy the house because it was not practical for families.

Mr Beatson said the home was good value per square foot, despite its thin width.

‘The home really does have a big area and it is close to the new Westfield Shopping Centre and only seven minutes walk from the tube,’ he said.

Mr Beatson said the property market was set to soar next year because of a shortage of homes on the market.

‘There is still not as much stock on the market as we would like on the market,’ he said.

Small but beautiful: The property even has its own paved garden, ideal for barbeques in the summer

The bathroom has a European-style bidet and a modern, high-powered shower

There is even a chic Aga cooker for the new owner

And the renovation company fitted it with these neat kitchen units

‘It has quietened down over December, which it always does but we are expecting January to be booming.

‘January was really busy last year and it should be busy again.’  Mr Beatson said many home owners had been too scared to sell, fearing they will not get the right price for their asset.

But he said those fears had led to a shortage of homes for sale which had driven up the cost of real estate across London.

‘People are concerned about selling because they are worried if they will have anywhere new to move into,’ he said.

‘Interest rates are low at the moment, but people are worried what interest rates will do in the New Year.

‘But hopefully the New Year is going to be very busy.’

Book shelves line the first floor landing and the passageway leaning to the living room

The double bed is almost as wide as the house