Real Estate

Property in Soho moves fast and rarely comes cheap, so the local real estate trade tends to know its patch well. Estate agents here handle buying, selling and letting, and the better ones earn their keep on local knowledge alone, since values can shift street by street in central London.

Property management firms take the day-to-day off owners' hands, dealing with tenants, maintenance and the legal side. Developers, meanwhile, shape what gets built, from flats and period conversions to commercial and mixed-use space. If you are after a flat, an office or a slice of older London, it pays to talk to someone who works the area regularly.