Buyers' appetite for expensive homes in north London is being well fed by developers. From single houses to larger schemes, Hampstead and Highgate both have much to offer. In these artistic locations, however, it is not enough simply to build property. It has to have a story.

Developer Atelier plans to launch Hurstbourne, on Bishopswood Road, Highgate, in September. Atelier has restored and updated the six-storey, six-bedroom house, keeping its red-brick Victorian façade. Behind it is 10,000 sq ft of accommodation with an indoor pool and spa, a cinema, bar and lounge. Guide price is £13.55 million and agent is Glentree. This is the former home of AV Hill, winner of a Nobel Prize for Medicine and one of the fathers of biophysics.

In Hampstead, the three-bedroom Langtry House is for sale at £4.5 million. Built by musician Tony Gibber, who wrote the original theme for Top of the Pops, it is on East Heath Road. Agent is Aston Chase.

Barratt London is building and refurbishing 120 one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments and two-bedroom houses in Kidderpore Avenue, NW3. The redevelopment of a site owned by King's College, London, Kidderpore Green is due to launch next month with anticipated prices from £550,000 to £3.5 million.

Hampstead School of Art (HSoA) is based in a charming but crumbling house but it is to be reincarnated as a fully equipped new art facility - and another Langtry, Isobel Langtry, principal and sculptor, has worked with the architects to design it. The school will form the heart of the development, with ample classrooms and workshops, to allow HSoA to expand. There will be a public café, which will also be enjoyed by residents.