A new map showing average prices and rents for apartments in postcode-based catchment areas around each of the London Underground tube stations may provide a useful starting point for those looking to buy or rent property in the city.

Produced by Mayfair and West End estate agent Wetherell, in association with property research consultancy Dataloft, the Wetherell London-Underground Property Map reveals, for the first time, London’s most expensive tube stations and underground lines, ranked by the value of residential properties around them.

Wetherells' MD Peter Wetherell says that the map gives Londoners the ability to question property developers, estate agents and landlords about whether they are living close to a ‘good value’ or a ‘poor return’ tube station.

“Property marketing people can use clever imagery, glossy brochures and smart marketing suites to help talk up homes in secondary, underperforming locations. However, one thing they cannot do is change the name of their local tube station. So the tube-linked data we have produced provides a starting point for Londoners looking to buy and rent property in the heart of the capital.”

To create the map, Dataloft undertook an extensive survey, analysing sales and rental values for two-bedroomed apartments (as reported by the Land Registry, Lonres and Zoopla) over a 12-month period.

The findings

Not surprisingly, ranked by property values, Knightsbridge is London’s most expensive tube station (two-bed flat average price £2.67 million; £1,252 per week rent).

Others in the top 10 most expensive tube stations include:

• Hyde Park Corner, by Belgravia – average price of a two-bed flat, £1.71 million; £936 per week rent
• Sloane Square, Chelsea – average price of a two-bed flat, £1.44 million; £820 per week rent
• Green Park, Mayfair – average price of a two-bed flat, £1.27 million; £1,016 per week rent
• High Street Kensington – average price of a two-bed flat, £1.19 million; £822 per week rent
• Regent’s Park – average price of a two-bed flat, £1.18 million; £713 per week rent

In Zone 1, the Piccadilly line is London’s most expensive and prestigious tube line, as ranked by the average property value on the line. The average value of a two-bedroomed apartment is £1.36 million.

Next come the District (£1.06 million), Circle (£1.02 million) and Central (£995,452) lines.

With its currently undervalued locations of Victoria, Pimlico and Vauxhall, the Victoria line has an average property value of £760,861, while, at £613,890, the Northern line is the least valuable tube line in Zone 1.

Other fascinating findings are the huge jumps in property values that occur in the relatively short distance of a few stations. Travel just five stops from Elephant and Castle to Piccadilly Circus and prices rise from just £361,300 to £1.03 million, an increase of 186 per cent.

Serviced accommodation provider Select Apartments has introduced a complimentary VIP chauffeur service for corporate clients who book one of its apartments for more than a month.

The new service, which will operate from Heathrow Airport to any destination within a 25-mile radius, is part of the company’s recently completed rebrand.

Select's managing director, Simon Morrison, said, ”We’d like to be seen as the gold standard in apartments, which is the idea behind this additional benefit.

Serviced accommodation owner-operator Marlin Apartments has completed the refurbishment of its Canary Wharf property, which is to be relaunched today.

The £1 million refurbishment is the first in a wider programme of investment designed to secure the company the largest share of the serviced accommodation corporate travel market in London.

Over the last six months, the apartments at 9 Byng Street, in London’s Docklands financial district, have been refurbished to a four-star-equivalent standard, with a 24-hour concierge service.

In addition to studio, one- and two-bedroomed apartments, which are perfect for corporate guests travelling on business, the property offers a range of two- and three-bedroomed family apartments that can accommodate up to seven people.

Despite fewer house hunters registering, the number of residential property sales agreed during March remained strong, according to new figures from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).

The NAEA’s March 2013 housing-market report indicates that, although the number of potential purchasers dropped slightly to an average of 286 in March, compared with 289 in February, residential property sales remained steady month on month, at an average of eight per branch.

This puts the ratio of buyers at levels not seen since the summer of 2011, with one home being sold for every 39 house hunters in Q1 2013, improving from one every 43 in Q1 2012.

The figures, says the NAEA, indicate steady confidence in the housing market in the first quarter of this year, and the return of the “serious” house hunter.

However, there is some concern that the percentage of overall sales to first-time buyers (FTBs) dropped once again in March, suggesting that this group are still not gaining access to the mortgage finance they need, despite a raft of recently announced government measures.

Landlords and managing agents are being warned that they face a “real threat” of fines if new immigration laws for tenants, proposed in the Queen’s Speech, are introduced.

The warning comes from PropertyReclaim.com, an online legal service created by repossessions lawyer Moore Blatch to help landlords and their advisers resolve problems with tenants.

In the first four years following the introduction of similar rules designed to curb the employment of illegal workers, the UK Border Agency issued nearly 7,000 notifications of liability, which resulted in £65 million of fines, Property Reclaim says.

There are 4.8 million UK private-sector businesses, and two million private landlords.

Under employment law, an employer can be prosecuted and fined up to £10,000 for employing illegal workers, including:

The housing market in some parts of Britain may be taking a step closer to recovery, according to a new report.

April’s edition of the LSL Property Services/Acadametrics England and Wales House Price Index shows that residential property prices in England and Wales rose £707 in April, have risen £6,726 in the past 12 months, and have fallen only once in the past 17 months.

The catalyst, says Richard Sexton, director of residential valuation services provider e.surv, has been a significantly improved mortgage market. “Sales are 18 per cent higher than they were last year, reflecting the improved conditions for buyers.

“A plethora of excellent mortgage deals are surfacing, cheaper mortgages have trickled into the market, and low interest rates, too, have led to a boost in buyer activity.

“The impact of the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) has been significant, allowing banks and building societies to accelerate lending levels to a wider pool of borrowers. Gradually, competitive rates have emerged, which should mean we will see a solid improvement to lending levels in 2013.

The first pan-European 'MOOCs' (Massive Open Online Courses) initiative is set to launch this year with partners in 11 countries joining forces and with the support of the European Commission.

MOOCs are online university courses, which enable people to access quality education without having to leave their homes. Around 40 courses, covering a wide variety of subjects, will be available free of charge and in 12 different languages. The initiative is led by the European Association of Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU) and mostly involves open universities.

The partners are based in France, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, UK, Russia, Turkey and Israel.

Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, welcomed the new initiative, “This is an exciting development and I hope it will open up education to tens of thousands of students and trigger our schools and universities to adopt more innovative and flexible teaching methods,” she said.

“The MOOCs movement has already proved popular, especially in the US, but this pan-European launch takes the scheme to a new level. It reflects European values such as equity, quality and diversity and the partners involved are a guarantee for high-quality learning. We see this as a key part of the Opening up Education strategy which the Commission will launch this summer.”

Courses range from mathematics to economics, e-skills to e-commerce, climate change to cultural heritage, corporate social responsibility to the modern Middle East, and language learning to writing fiction. Each partner is offering courses via its own learning platform and at least in its home language. The current choice is from the 11 languages of the partners plus Arabic.

Professor Fred Mulder, chair of the EADTU task force on open education and UNESCO chair in Open Educational Resources, is leading the initiative."We have much to offer in Europe by fully exploring the possibilities created by the MOOCs revolution,” he said. “But with a broader perspective on opening up education. Our aim is to respond to the need for a more accessible system of higher education, which puts the learner at the centre.

“The European MOOCs will provide quality, self-study materials and a bridge between informal learning and formal education. Some of the courses attract formal credits which will count towards a degree, for example. And we cherish diversity both in language and in culture."

Detailed information about the initiative and the courses on offer is available on the portal www.OpenupEd.eu.

Despite fears of the disastrous effects of the shortage of available places on this year's primary school admissions figures, over 90% of London pupils starting school in September 2013 have been offered a place at one of their top three choices. 81% received their first preference, which shows an increase from last year.

The death of former UK Prime Minster Margaret Thatcher, whose funeral took place today, has prompted assessments of every aspect of her achievements and legacy.

As its contribution, estate agent Knight Frank has explored how UK property prices have performed under Prime Ministers from Anthony Eden, who held office in the 1950s, to current incumbent David Cameron.

Its research found that prices rose the most during Tony Blair’s tenure (211.3 per cent), followed by Margaret Thatcher's (187.9 per cent). The largest rise in UK home ownership was under Mrs Thatcher (10.4 per cent).

On an annualised basis, the research revealed, house prices performed most strongly under Edward Heath, when growth averaged 32.8 per cent per annum. The second-highest annual average occurred under Mr Blair’s leadership, when prices increased by 21.1 per cent.

This was closely followed by James Callaghan’s period in office, when, between the second quarter of 1976 and the second quarter of 1979, UK house prices rose by 20.8 per cent on average.

Frequently cited as a safe investment, gold has experienced a significant rise in price over the last ten years. Sold at around $350/ounce in January 2003, it peaked at almost $1800/ounce in October 2012 and has maintained a healthy price since.

In the past few days, however, - prompted in part by cash-strapped Cyprus' plans to sell off most of its reserves - the gold price has experienced its sharpest fall since the 1980s. With gold today sold at $1348/ounce, experts are now speculating whether the price will drop further or investors will snatch up gold at the new price.

The Home Office has announced that international students will be permitted to enter the UK to study at London Metropolitan University from this week.

Last summer, the University hit the headlines after it had its licence to recruit and teach non-EU students revoked following Home Office concerns over its failure to monitor the immigration status and attendance of its international students.

UNICEF’s Office of Research has released a study on child well-being in wealthy industrialised countries today. The report finds that the Netherlands and four Nordic countries – Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden – sit at the top of a child well-being table; whilst four southern European countries – Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain – are placed in the bottom half of the table.