The high point of 2012 is more to do with sport than real estate, for most property auctioneers. In a market where buyer confidence is king, everyone is hoping for a boost in the summer, as the London Games provides a mini boom.

Strettons celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2011.

Bankers and politicians may be running a bit short, but that is not denting the spending power of the world's billionaires. Global wealth has increased in the past five years, with the number of billionaires increasing by 20 per cent in the past year alone.

Allsop is claiming Ireland's largest property auction, held in Dublin at the beginning of December. Some 108 properties were offered to a packed room of domestic and international buyers. At the halfway point, around 1,600 bidders had attended and 31 properties received remote overseas bids. At time of writing, 99 lots had sold, a success rate of 91 per cent.

Four apartments have already sold in the first week at Aldenham Square, directly opposite Bushey station.

The 47 one- and two-bedroom apartments are proving popular with commuters, offering a journey time into Euston of only 19 minutes.

self-build and renovation projects and is launching the "Your Fusion" marque.

Fusion's Warren Rosenberg says: "More frequently than ever, money-no-object house-hunters are not just looking for a dream home. They are looking for their dream home, one with their thumbprint indelibly stamped into the bricks and mortar of the property and the very soul of the place.

You get 57 varieties of lot at auctions these days. Gone are the sales when you would expect to find just the typical auction fare of receivership properties and ground rents.

Acuitus's October auction raised a total of £26 million from 40 properties.

More than half of the 25 apartments at Wheston Lodge, in Woodside Park, north London have sold in just three months. There is a choice of one- and two-bedroom apartments, including duplexes and penthouses.

Property "civilisation" overseas goes through three distinct stages. At first, anyone can buy in an overseas resort because laws are so relaxed - but would you want to? The next, the locals become appalled at the number of foreigners moving in so they restrict property ownership.

You may be a homeowner reading about falling house prices. No need to panic. A small number of press releases entitled "UK housing market confidence wanes" have escaped into the community.

Investors demonstrated demand for properties across the UK at the latest Acuitus commercial property auction which raised £16.29 million at a sale rate of 76 per cent.

Acuitus auctioneer Richard Auterac says: "The results from this auction should give sellers - and the banks in particular - increased confidence that there are buyers for the stock they are currently holding.

With the summer holidays on the horizon, a small but not inconsiderable posse of holiday property buyers leave Britain to look for the ideal holiday home. They have a whole globe to choose from, with popular destinations including Spain, Florida, Israel and the Caribbean.

The auctions scene is rapidly-changing. Cushman & Wakefield's auctions team is off to join CBRE and King Sturge is merging with Jones Lang LaSalle. Meanwhile, Jones Lang LaSalle's former team Acuitus has a sale coming up in July.

Wonderful thing, statistics. They are a springboard for imagination. Take the latest from estate agent Savills. It says that £3.3 billion of foreign capital fuels the prime London property market each year.

From this, it deduces that the international wealth currently flowing into the prime London residential market each year is enough to buy 18,561 average UK homes.

Do you have £225 million to spend on your next north London home?

Distressed and receivership properties are a theme of current sales - and nowhere more so than across the Irish Sea.

Savills Ireland has announced that on September 29 it will hold what it claims will be the largest property auction Ireland has seen in a long while. Clients include banks, receivers and private sellers.

According to the latest figures from the Institute of National Statistics, Marbella's tourism industry is well on the road to recovery. Other tourism figures are also reportedly up across Spain, with the Andalucían region coming out on top.

There have been faint signs of improvement in the property market too.

Radlett agent Village Estates is marking 25 years in business this year. When Neil Landau set up the company, the average asking price for a modest home in the South East was around £36,000.

Savills' May property auction in London proved a great success, with more than 500 buyers in the auction room. Some 85 per cent of auction lots sold, raising almost £27 million.