Assetz® News - An Olympian dream

An Olympian dream

22nd August 2008 |

In the last couple of weeks the Olympics have captured the hearts and minds of billions across the globe, not least in Britain. In the sporting arena the eight golds of Michael Phelps, the British medal rush and the record-breaking sprints of Usain Bolt have all left spectators and TV viewers spellbound. But in the meantime the subtext for UK viewers has been the fact that the next games will be held in Britain.

Of course, the Olympics have seldom, if ever, been just about sport. The prestige of hosting an event and political statements have been a major part of its history, but in more recent years the theme of urban regeneration has come to the fore.

Barcelona, which hosted the 1992 games, used the event as a means of improving its infrastructure, as did 2004 hosts Athens. The Catalan city also regenerated its waterfront area, modernising its old docks. When Manchester bid for the games the theme of regenerating the east of the city was a key element, something it continued through the Commonwealth Games of 2002 and which Glasgow may hope to emulate when it stages the same event in 2014.

For London, talk of legacy has been there since the very start of the bid, now forming a component part of the appeals made by aspiring cities to the International Olympic Committee. Having won the vote in 2005, the capital has pressed ahead with this theme as it seeks to lift the East End of London out of the doldrums. Property investors taking an interest in this and other developments in the area to come (such as Crossrail and the Thames Gateway) may pay particular attention to new developments.

With the Olympics in the spotlight and his own election a recent memory, London mayor Boris Johnson has set out his aim to ensure the best legacy. This week he challenged developers and investors in the East End near the main Olympic Park in Stratford to come up with something outstanding to last way beyond 2012.

He announced: "Today I am calling on investors and organisations around the world to come forward and surprise us with startling ideas that can preserve the memory of the games while creating a new focus for London's eastward growth."

This view was sheared by Sir Robin Wales, mayor of Newham, where the main Olympic Park at Stratford will be based. He set out a challenge to such parties to "add to the buzz that the 2012 Games is already generating and to underpin the area's growing prosperity and development".

For those looking for property in which to invest, be it buy-to-let, commercial property or other developments, the hope will be that such excellence is indeed achieved, creating the opportunities for the future.

That such growth can be expected has been emphasised this week by Berkeley Homes, which has pointed to research by King Sturge which found that house prices in Olympic host cities have grown by five times the national average in the half decade before the event itself. If London can match this trend, those investing there will not have to settle for silver.

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