Housing
Property Value Decline of the Day: -2.5 Percent
Billions of dollars in investment have not helped Newham, the borough that will host London's Olympics.
Bad news for London's poorest borough of Newham: property values there fell by 2.5 percent in the last year, even as they rose by 2.8 percent citywide, Bloomberg News reports. This after the city poured billions of pounds into a revitalization effort for the neighborhood, which will host a large portion of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
The area lacks amenities to draw home-owners, like schools and restaurants, according to real estate professionals. Instead, Newham is dotted with public housing projects, discount liquor stores, and betting shops. “There’s too many people here and too much crime,” shopkeeper Jahangir Alom told Bloomberg. “The population is moving to Stratford because of that.”