Potential home-owners moving to an unfamiliar area of England and Wales have a new online tool in the form of police crime maps to help them decide on the desirability of the neighbourhood before they consult a residential conveyancing solicitor about the legal contract.

The new website, which shows the number of crimes, including robberies, burglaries and anti-social behaviour across a postcode area, has received a mixed reaction from property industry experts.

A property analyst at Findaproperty.com said the existence of a proven low-crime district could have an effect on house prices similar to that of school catchment areas where good schools attracted a premium of up to 20%.

In 2004, researchers from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) found that increased crime in London districts were related to lower home prices but it was high-visibility crimes such as graffiti and vandalism which caused the biggest depression to the market.

The study concluded that a cut in crime of 10% added about 1.7% to a selling price.

A director of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, David Dalby, said that although the RICS welcomed improved consumer information the crime statistics should not be taken out of context.

He added that figures for local levels of crime were already available through environmental searches undertaken by property conveyancing lawyers as part of the usual buying process and that it was only one of a number of factors considered when potential home-owners were deciding where to live.