Talk of the town - London's housing boom

[LONDON] Rohit Sabhlok said he's upset he lost a bidding war on a London house. Katy Barnes bought her home to avoid rising rents, while Holly Martin purchased hers as an investment - and both are hooked on a website that shows their property values soaring. Kay Durrant used her home's growing equity value to pay bills.

Welcome to London's frenzied housing market, where low mortgage rates and a dearth of properties for sale have sent prices rising in a year by an amount almost twice the average annual London wage.

From centuries-old pubs to Mayfair clubs to the halls of Parliament, London is abuzz with talk of escalating values, foreign buyers with piles of cash and half-built garages selling for vast sums.