It's interesting seeing your thoughts. I've lived in HOP for a couple of years now but I first moved to East Dulwich 15 years ago so I've seen an area gentrify first hand. When I first moved there I'd walk into a pub and the music would stop because I was too posh. Now the music stops because I'm too rough and I scare the kids.

The debate rages as to what drives house prices up but there are a few factors that are always needed to really cement and stabilise an area.

Transience is one thing. The more a property changes hands and the more people move into an area the higher the prices will generally go. An area will struggle to have that transience without good transport links and until now (ELL extension) SE23 hasn't really had those links to cater for "fall out of bed onto the tube" 9 to 5 workers that will pay slightly over the odds for convenience and a lovely flat. The catch twenty two is that property developers will not spend money making these lovely flats until they see signs of that demographic moving in.

So once we get past this little Mexican standoff we then need good schools in the area, predominantly junior schools, as these will attract the families who will occupy the houses for a longer amount of time than the transient flat buyers. A family with three kids could stay in the same house for well over 10 years. This ties up the supply of stock so when a new house comes to be sold the demand will outstrip the supply and drive the house prices up. HOP seems to have benefitted from this factor more than FH with Fairlawn and Stillness schools both being outstanding in the OFSTED reports.

Now the houses get more expensive and so do the flats. The young professionals move into the flats and houses because they can now get into work with the minimum amount of stress and they bring with them lots of disposable income. As hard as the try they can't spend all of it in the Chandos (even on a football night when they HAVE to buy alcohol by order of the management) so they look for new places to spend their hard earned cash and it's always nice to spend your money closer to home.

A nice florist moves in and sells proper flowers not cheap garage tat. Then a trendy coffee shop, Tapas bar, Estate Agent and before you know it your run down parade is starting to look a little like a high street. Entrepreneurs and businesses will see this and feel like they should get involved and before you know it you have a high street full of chain stores and people that no longer look you in the eye and pubs that serve over priced food and don't play loud music and throw you out for swearing under your breath. Or something like that.

Rising house prices and the gentrification of an area is not always a good thing but not always a bad thing I think as long as the area can maintain some kind of identity with its independence and not get completely swallowed up by the corporate identities trying to suck all of the profit out an area under the guise of "convenience on your door step" type rubbish.

Sorry this turned into a rant didn't it?