The London Olympics are five years away but now is the time to buy, says Sheila Prophet

The countdown has begun for the 2012 Olympic Games and with less than five years to go, London's East End is already feeling the buzz, with investors flocking to locations around the future Olympic Park and its huge regeneration area.

House prices in areas close to the site of the 2012 Olympic games have gone up 15 per cent - equivalent to £35,000 - since London won the bid in July 2005, new research shows.

Halifax Estate Agents' study reveals house prices increased most in Leytonstone, up 23 per cent since London won the bid, followed by Hackney (up 21 per cent), Clapton (18 per cent) and Leyton (13 per cent).

At what was basically a pep rally Tuesday for the city's business elite, Mayor Richard M. Daley touted Chicago as the best city for the U.S. bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

Daley listed several reasons why Chicago should be chosen, including its position as one of the top economic centers in the world, its ability to handle large crowds, its residents' love of athletic competitions and the natural beauty of the city -- with Lake Michigan providing a backdrop for many of the events. Daley also said the Chicago proposal has the benefit of being compact. All the athletes would be located within 15 minutes of the venues where they would compete, he said.

Probable impacts of the Lower Lea Valley Developments (particularly the Olympics phase) on tenants in privately rented accommodation.

It is easier for the world to accept a simple lie than a complex truth.
Alexis de Tocqueville 1805-1859