SPOTTING an up and coming neighbourhood before the rest of the pack is the name of the game for streetwise househunters.

Certainly it's the key to success for the professionals who get paid to track down places with potential for wealthy buyers too busy to do the legwork themselves.

Jonathan Haward, founder and managing director of the largest independent network of homefinders in the UK, warned this week that amateurs will miss out if they wait for the arrival of Starbucks to show that a place is going up in the world.

"By the time the first cappuccinos are being sipped, the canny investors will have already moved in," observes the boss of The County Homesearch Company.

He has compiled a list of the ten pointers which help his experts earn their £500 basic fee plus two per cent of the purchase price or 15 per cent of the saving they've negotiated on the asking price, whichever is the greater.

Here's their passport to success hopefully it could do the business for you, too. Tune in your antennae this bank holiday weekend and be ready to do the rounds of the estate agents if you encounter Haward's market indicators that set your nose twitching:

Notice whether the local sandwich bars are turning themselves into delis if Parma ham and sicilian olives are replacing egg and cress, the area is moving up-market

Look for skips in front gardens or on the roadside loft conversions and new kitchens indicate locals are investing in home improvements

Estate agents are usually the first to spot an opportunity look for swanky companies opening on the high street

Call in at the local garden centre. Patio furniture and high style, low maintenance garden accessories point to time-poor affluent professionals thereabouts

Working parents are desperate for good childcare. Private daycare nurseries are often very quick to identify up and coming areas, so look out for advertising heralding new arrivals

A local pub with a newly decorated exterior and outdoor gas heaters in the garden suggest the alfresco crowd are moving in

Large supermarket chains know which way the economic wind is blowing. Ask if posh shops like Waitrose are applying for planning permission

It's a signal that estate agents are gearing up for a push when an area acquires a new name such as Brackenbury Village or Between the Commons,

Interior design shops spring up very rapidly when owners with money start moving into a neighbourhood next thing you know the sandwich bars will be serving skinny lattes.

As a final clincher, check whether the council has plans to impose parking restrictions residents-only parking, say the homefinders, is very desirable and attracts buyers to an area.

"As the housing market is still growing year on year, there's a growing trend for affluent buyers to move into traditionally down-at-heel areas," declares Jonathan Haward. "If buyers want to take advantage of this they have to spot the signs as early as possible to make the maximum gains."

WE asked local agents to forecast the areas where prices are likely to rise faster than other places. Here are the tips from those who should know:

"People moving out of inner London and places like Chiswick and Hammersmith are showing a lot of interest in Ealing Common, West Acton and Acton Hill.

By comparison with central London prices the properties they find here are very good value. They can get large period houses with bigger gardens than where they are at the moment everything is better value." Ealing Common agent Derek Grimshaw

"Perivale the Medway Estates on the other side of the A40. We're getting lots more viewings in that area and lots more offers. Currently we're marketing a five bedroom double fronted end of terrace house in Lynmouth Gardens with two bathrooms, two reception rooms and a garden in excess of 70ft for £380,000. The way the market in that area is going it won't be long before a property like that is £400,000." John Procinski at the Ealing branch of Haart

"Acton is the place to buy. It's going to be the No 1 hotspot in the whole of London. I have people coming here from all over the country wanting to live in London. They've looked on the internet and they've been guided by a survey on a website which says Acton is the place to buy. Having said that, how about Poets Corner? Poets Corner prices have gone up more than ten per cent this year." Ronan McNamara at the Acton officce of Robertson Smith & Kempson

"Watch out for Greenwich, Stratford and the Thames Gateway in the east and Wembley and Acton in the west and follow a few basic principles when buying. Buy the best you can in the area of your choice, pay the right price at the right time but always stretch yourself as far as you can because one never regrets buying something one really wants and, in time, the price differential will be minimal. Outside space, be it roof terrace, balcony, garden or patio, is a big plus, as is some form of car parking.

Condition is less important, unless you are going for convenience or selling."

Victoria Mitchell, senior consultant to FPD Savills writing in the spring/summer edition of Aspects of Property, the agency's magazine