With a total of 185 flats & houses sold in Mayfair & St James's during 1999 turnover of residential property increased some 88% compared to 1998, Wetherell's research reveals. Whilst the increase in capital values has been widely reported, the increase in turnover is noteworthy, especially as approximately 15% of the properties sold had been newly created from office or redundant buildings.

This underlines the continuing ascendancy of Mayfair & St James's as a residential area which, together with increased availability, has been helped by a number of factors including landlords being more co-operative when negotiating lease extensions and Westminster City Council clamping down on flats being used as holiday let apartments.

To illustrate the diversity of properties in Mayfair, of the properties sold last year the cheapest flat (asking price £130,000) could comfortably occupy the space of the dining room in the most expensive house sold (asking price £6,500,000).

Other notable sales of 1999, all concluded by Wetherell, included two flats overlooking the much sought after Mount Street Gardens, a Grosvenor Square apartment with five windows onto the square, a Park Lane apartment of 3,670 square feet and five flats with access to Mayfair's Secret Gardens behind Green Street.

During the course of this year Wetherell will be bringing to the market a number of developments, including maisonettes in Mayfair Village, prestigious penthouses next door to St James's Palace, pied a terres off Piccadilly and Mayfair mansions.

With a good 'product mix' these properties will bolster the neighbourhood and should result in an increased demand for property in the area; Wetherell have always maintained that the local property market is supply led and not demand led.

The Mayfair market looks set to continue apace in 2000; the 'feel good' factor appears to be back, new wealth is being created by high technology companies (e-millionaires look set to be the 'buyers of the year') and even with the abolition of MIRAS and interest rates creeping up over the last five months, people are continuing to take on larger mortgages in the long term expectation that rates will go down whilst their income increases.

The rental market throughout 1999 has continued at the same intensity as the sale's market. Investment buyers have offset softening yields during last year against the increase in capital values and tenants have a greater choice of properties to rent.