Live the high life for less in Canary Wharf

Canary Wharf’s housing market has been quietly readjusting since the 2008 financial crisis. Property prices as well as banks came down with a crash. But a recovery has set in, due to nimble-footed developers biting the bullet and re-marketing homes at enticing prices - up to 30 per cent “discounts”.

Many of the apartments now for sale were originally bought off-plan by investors who failed to complete the purchase. One conspicuous development, as its name confirms, is The Landmark, a pair of towers (right) moments from the Canary Wharf dealing rooms.

All 650 flats were snapped up by an investment company when the market was booming. A good many were sold on to individual buyers - but then Lehman Brothers collapsed...

Alex Finch, of estate agent King Sturge - employed by the off-shore developer to sort out the mess - tells me: “you could call it a relaunch, but really it is a launch because the homes were never really marketed to the public”.

The two dockside towers are now nearing completion and will be ready for occupants from July 2010. The sleek modern architecture slots nicely into the landscape of shiny skyscrapers. Homes have floor-to-ceiling glazing to maximise the splendid views, comfort cooling and crisp, stylish interior design (pictured below). They are also a little larger than many other apartments built during this period.

Prices start at £245,000 for one-bedroom flats and rise to £1.35 million for a three-bedroom penthouse. There is underground parking and a hotel-style reception lobby with 24-hour concierge, plus a residents’ only gym.

Boutiques and restaurants are earmarked for commercial space around a landscaped piazza. Call 020 7087 7971.

On average, the revised prices equate to about £600 per sq ft. At the peak, some Canary Wharf apartments reached nearly £1,000 per sq ft.

At Millennium Quarter, across the dock from The Landmark, apartments are for sale at several other schemes that started life before the credit crunch. Ability Place has 360 private flats, about 40 of which remain. Prices start at £331,000 for a 663 sq ft one-bedroom apartment. An 807 sq ft two-bedroom flat costs from £404,000. Call 020 7993 7395.

Indescon Court is a redevelopment of a low-rise business estate built in the 1980s. Earlier this year, Galliard resold 200 failed completion flats during a weekend “fire sale”. A second phase of the development is due, bringing the total number of apartments to 364. Call 020 7620 1500.