Estate agents gentrify the market

It's the oldest trick in the estate agent's book - change the name of an area to make it more attractive to buyers. But the scale of the practice is highlighted in a new report which found large numbers of places, including many London boroughs, have been rebranded in the property market.

South City, for example, may be known to more people as Elephant & Castle. West Hackney assumes the more literary title London Fields and North Hammersmith becomes Brackenbury Village. Others which Londoners may not be familiar with is the suffix "Borders" - so Crouch End becomes Highgate Borders and Lewisham is Blackheath Borders.

Of course it is not only a London habit - estate agents in Norwich found a development sold far better when it was renamed Anchor Quay. But it is the capital which seems to benefit most from an area getting the title "Village", or attaching itself to another to make it seem more upmarket.

So Raynes Park is called West Wimbledon, Battersea becomes South Chelsea and Streatham seems to be more attractive as South Clapham. Even in central London the area around Holborn is known by estate agents - although not by many others - as Midtown.

One in five estate agents said the new names added value to a property, said the Virgin One report, called The Cappuccino Test. This is the test many apply to a would-be home to see if it is in an up-and-coming area - that is if there is a decent coffee shop within walking distance.

Changing the name is also a sign that the area is getting trendy, as are the signs above the shops in the local high street. Look for Gap, Waterstone's and a delicatessen, the report says.

Although estate agents get the blame, many claim they are simply taking their cue from property developers who build swanky new estates but change the name of the area.

James Duffell of Virgin One said: "You often hear people saying an area's 'upandcoming' but it's always been a bit of an abstract concept. We've tried to gain an insight into how people define a neighbourhood as desirable or downright unappealing."

The survey of almost 1,000 people, including 200 estate agents, said people looked at local schools, distance to transport links and general appearance as guides. But, said Virgin One, they should also look at the makes of cars in the driveways, tidiness of window boxes and whether there are upmarket shops.

Pitfalls, often found only after moving in, are gangs of youngsters hanging around, traffic and barking dogs.