A recent report claimed that Turkey has what it takes to be a potential hotspot for property investors over the coming twelve months.

So, because holiday season is well and truly underway – and the much promised barbeque summer hasn’t quite materialised – we decided to have a little jaunt overseas to Turkey for this week’s Five to View.

And what an enjoyable trip it’s been, too. We’ve picked a mix of holiday-esque homes in a variety of locations, with prices ranging from “That’s amaaaazing value!!” to “Blimey, that’s a bit steep.”

Starting with the highest priced, here are our tasty Turkish delights*:

*(I know, I know, I’m sorry…!)

(click on pics for full property details)

1. 6 bedroom detached, Bodrum, £4,700,000

2. 5 bedroom detached, Kas, £1,200,000

3. 4 bedroom detached, Kalkan, £320,000

4. 5 bedroom detached, Fethiye, £305,000

5. 5 bedroom detached, Cesme, £289,000

Following our announcement last week that we’d experienced our highest ever Sunday traffic levels, we’ve only gone and broken another in-house record.

Our Research team have confirmed that the month of July 2009 saw more visitors coming to FindaProperty.com than ever before, with an average of over 3,900 visitors to the site every single hour!

The number of visitors is up 7.9 per cent compared to June 2009, and is a massive 21.7 per cent higher than a year ago, when an average of just over 3,200 visitors arrived at the site every hour.

This is encouraging news, as traditionally the summer months see a stabilisation in traffic, with levels often lower than those experienced at the start of a calendar year.

The record traffic levels we have seen in July buck this trend, and could be a sign that house hunters believe that now is a good time to move.

Recent analysis from our Research team also suggests renewed confidence about prices, with just 23 per cent of online property searchers expecting further house price falls.

FindaProperty.com goes on air and on the road this week with our ‘What makes a home?’ advertising campaign.

Below are the radio ads featuring James and Nina. Enjoy!

Rosie and Paul, David and Fiona, Michael and Sally

Amity, James, Rosie and Paul

James

Nina

Our ‘What makes a home?’ print ads will continue to run across the Metro, London Lite, the Evening Standard, Daily Mail and a wide range of regional titles.

You will be able to hear the ad on a number of radio stations including Key 103, XFM, Radio City, Heart, Wave, Century Radio, Real Radio and see the ads vans in Nottingham, Birmingham, Portsmouth, Southampton, Newcastle and many other towns!

It seems that even in the property world, green is the new black.  Earlier this month, the Government announced the locations of the UK’s first four eco-towns which will feature affordable homes that use natural energy.

This was followed by news this week that Velux are to build the country’s first two carbon neutral model homes which they promise will adhere to the “highest of eco credentials”.

This is part of a wider project to build six “demonstration houses” in six different European locations between now and 2010, all of which will reflect three main principles: efficient energy design; high living factor; and minimum climate impact.

Well, we’re all for this new wave of environmentally conscious construction, so we thought we’d support the cause by going green ourselves – here is this week’s positively verdant Five To View:

(Click on pictures for full property details)

1. Shoreham by Sea

2. St. Agnes, Cornwall

3. Rye, Camber

4. Canterbury, Kent

5. Charvil, Berkshire

I’ve had the flat for almost six weeks now…where has the time gone? I know where…on DIY!

Completion day was nerve wracking. I was pacing the room waiting for the call, keeping everything crossed that there wasn’t going to be an unforeseen hiccup with the money but I eventually heard from my solicitor and agent (who mimicked a girlie scream down the phone) and I hot footed it over to the office to get the keys. My keys!

It was so weird going into the flat knowing that it was finally mine. It was an amazing feeling and I ran around like a hyperactive five year old for a little while and then got stuck in!

I have never worked so hard. I spent the next four days stripping wallpaper, lugging stuff about, making trips to B&Q, hammering the credit card and making endless cups of tea and sandwiches for my army of helpers (who I would have been lost without).

(with apologies to J. Howard Miller)

The hard work paid off though and the bedrooms and hallway were finished in time for the carpets to go down and lodger friend to move in.  Working until about midnight every night after a day at work was very tiring but worth it – it looks like a different place.

I’ve got so many cards and people dropping in to have a look and everyone loves it and says it has a really good feel about it. I even got a card from the vendor wishing me luck in my new home which I thought was a really nice touch … and flowers from the agent!

So life in the new pad is going great! I still love it and still really believe I did the right thing. Almost had a heart attack when the first mortgage payment disappeared out of my bank, mind, but I am trying to be really careful with my spending and enjoying life as a home owner.

Hope I don’t turn into a DIY bore …

Our research team have been busy scrutinising our traffic levels and tell me that on 26 July 2009 we broke the existing record for the number of visitors logging onto the site on a Sunday.

Last Sunday, we recorded an average of 113 visits every minute. The previous Sunday record was on 22nd February 2009 when FindaProperty.com averaged 110 visits per minute.

Traditionally, visitor numbers are strongest in January, but if the current trend continues we could see a summer surge that outstrips this year’s winter performance.

Why the recent pick up? It’s possibly a sign that people believe the market has bottomed out and that now is a good time to make a  move.

A related survey of users by FindaProperty.com shows that:

•    26% think prices will continue to fall

•    44% think prices will stabilise over the next six months

•    19% think prices have reached their lowest point

•    11% think prices are increasing

Following on from Joss’s post below about studio houses, here’s a random fact for you: Dante Gabriel Rossetti wasn’t just an artistic pioneer; he was also one of the first men in England to die in a bungalow.

This, admittedly, was because he was also one of the first people in England to live in a bungalow – but even so.

Said bungalow was out in Birchington-on-Sea in Kent where in the 1880s the Arts & Crafts architect John Seedon built an up-market single-storied estate – the very first of its kind in England.

Rail travel had brought the seaside within reach of the masses, so the Tower Bungalow Estate was carefully pitched – and priced – as a well-bred retreat untainted by cheap working class amusements.

In 1881, a sniffy Athol Mayhew wrote:

“Here there are no German bands in the gardens, no distressing minstrels on the sands, no revolting donkey drivers on the roads.  Birchington offers absolutely nothing, not even a solitary tea garden.”

An ailing Rossetti fetched up here in 1882 but even the absence of minstrels and donkey drivers couldn’t save him. He died a few weeks later and is buried in Birchington-on-Sea cemetery.

According to Wikipedia, admirers still come and leave flowers on his grave. The bungalow he died in was demolished in the 60s but some of the tower bungalows still stand and come up for sale from time to time.

Pics:  thanks to Birchington Heritage Trust for use of pictures.

For more on bungalows, see Buyer’s Guide: Bungalows and The Truth About … Bungalows.

In honour of the BBC’s lavish new series, Desperate Romantics, which is based on the lives of the artists behind the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti), this week’s Five to View focuses on studio houses.

The Pre-Raphaelite boys and their associates were often from privileged backgrounds, of course, so there was no need for roughing it in garrets or any of that “starving artist” nonsense.

Rather, they inhabited wonderful, light-filled houses or specially designed studio spaces, often in upmarket areas like Chelsea. Studio houses were a kind of 19th century live/work space, if you will.

These days they’re seriously sought-after and very expensive, but there’s no harm in looking!

So here’s our gallery of five studio houses currently on the market:

(Click on pictures for full property details)

1. Glebe Place  SW3

2. St Pauls Studios W14

3. Dovehouse Street SW3

4. The Vale SW3

5. Scarsdale Studios W8

For more, read our guide to Studio Houses.

If you took one dollop of 2001: A Space Odyssey, whisked in a hefty glug of Blade Runner and added a dash of The Mummy you’d end up with something like Makoto Tanijiri’s sleekly beautiful Pyramid house in Saijo, Hiroshima, Japan.

photo © Toshiyuki Yano (Nacasa&Partners Inc.)

Not only is it a stunningly futuristic statement, but it also apparently echoes the earliest form of Japanese architecture: the pit dwelling, or “tateana jukyo“; where a pit was dug out and then covered by a thatched roof.

This modern version of the traditional form was completed in 2007, but I’ve only just come across it (via here) and I like it. A lot.

A full article on the whys, hows and whos can be found over at yatzer.com

And if that’s whetted your appetite for living in a conic solid with a polygonal base, then check out the contemporary pyramids blog for more pointy buildings.

We have an interesting graph this week from our research team showing the relationship between falling stock levels and rising prices.

According to our figures, stock levels in the sales market are down 21.7 since their peak in February and have fallen month-on-month since then.

Significantly, house prices stabilized in April and have been on the rise as supply has dwindled.

Andrew Smith, FindaProperty.com’s Head of Research, says:

“Regionally, there are some interesting trends. In London, for example,  the average asking price has risen to £427,886 which is 3.2 per cent higher than June and 5.7 per cent higher than a year ago.

“This increase in asking prices corresponds with falling supply – in fact supply in London is 35 per cent lower than the levels seen a year ago.  The South East, the South West and the North East have also recorded at least three consecutive months of rising sales prices and falling supply.

“On the other hand, regions such as Scotland are still struggling, with an increase in supply and prices still falling both month-on-month and year-on-year.”

It’s hardly surprising, then, that agents in some areas are reporting the return of gazumping and sealed bids for the best properties: after a long period of relentless price cuts, the balance is tipping back towards sellers.

It remains to be seen how long this state of affairs will last – but if I was a homeowner thinking about selling, I’d be getting an agent in to value my place as soon as possible to make the most of the current  intense competition for limited stock.

Need a valuation? Search for a local estate agent on FindaProperty.com.