Sarah Kavanagh was delighted. In spite of the grim predictions for the future,
the homes of the rich in London were going for more than £3000 per square foot and much more, which according to her boss made the city one of the
most expensive and desirable places to live in the world. That was good for
business and it meant Sarah was sure of a job.
When she had been called back to London from Dominica, following Malcolm
Smeaton’s problems, she discovered prime property was booming again, at least
for the rich who were ploughing money into real estate. It was the middle class that
was suffering, people like Nicole, her mother, struggling to maintain their living
standards. However, in Nicole’s specific case there was little to complain about.
Everything was relative and Nicole compensated for higher taxes by raising the
rents on the homes she rented out in London to business expatriates. She at least
was pleased London was becoming too expensive for a large number of the city’s
middle classes.
The weakness of the pound sterling made London attractive to buyers from Hong
Kong where prime property prices had reached an extraordinary £7000 per square
foot. Once again, the very rich were investing in their well-established old world
sanctuaries: London, Paris and New York, where property was good value and
political stability was assured.