31,000 pounds room to swing a cat

You can tell the housing market is getting better when people start paying telephone numbers for something not much bigger than a phone box. Stern Studios has just sold a flat in Queen's Gate, Knightsbridge, that is so small you can stand in the middle and touch each wall.

The 12ft by 5ft bolthole went to a City worker fed up with struggling through

train strikes.

The previous owner had rented it out, but succumbed to the offer of pounds 31,000 - more than pounds 515 per sq ft. At that rate, a 2,500 sq ft detached house would cost more than pounds 1m. The owner does get a shower and kitchenette as well, says Stern, but that will be the only bit on the side, as a double bed appears out of the question. Even a single will be a squeeze.