Local Agents Dismiss Report's Claims of Chiswick Property Demand Surge

Research says buyer interest is higher in W4 than anywhere in London

Chiswick currently has the highest level of demand for residential property in prime London areas according to research by online estate agent emoov. However, some local agents have questioned the report's conclusions saying that there is little indication on the ground of a big surge in buyer interest so far this year.

Emoov have calculated the level of demand by showing the number of properties sold as a percentage of the number of properties listed and Chiswick has the highest proportion at 32% so far this year. It also has seen the second highest annual increase.

Christian Harper of Harper Finn was dismissive of Emoov's conclusions and said that he was struggling to detect any good news from a seller's perspective so far in 2017. He commented that without ‘boots on the ground' in Chiswick it was impossible to get an accurate picture of market demand.

He said, “In my experience 2017 has been a tough market for some clients whilst being a great market for many others, let me explain. Clients that are not purchasing after selling or that were looking to trade down in terms of price were typically holding out for 2015-2016 prices and simply sitting on the fence after getting poor pricing advice from agents, whilst clients that were looking to trade up were enjoying the reduced prices on the onward purchase thus reducing the differential in the transaction. I believe that the market is currently 10% to 15% down on 2015 in real terms whilst some agents are still making huge promises in terms of pricing and marketing abilities, whilst others including me are trying to price as honesty as possible. “

Although he is inclined to be ‘glass half full' and is looking for a pickup in demand after the summer holidays he is advising sellers to take pricing advice from three local and well established agents (including hopefully Harper Finn!) early in September. This will leave the property well positioned to take advantage of the late summer recovery.

Emoov attribute the rise in demand in Chiswick to the proximity to Acton and the overspill benefit of the impending arrival of the Crossrail service. Although Crossrail will not serve Chiswick there will a number of ways to connect with the service quickly from local public transport.

Paul Cooney of Horton and Garton dismisses the view that Crossrail is a factor. His view is that demand for property in Chiswick mainly comes from existing residents and that there has been a change in the attitude of Chiswick residents towards the property market.

He says, "The past year has been a period of adjustment for sellers and buyers with both sides licking wounds and coming to terms with new market conditions. I've seen a seismic shift in attitude recently with Chiswickians realising life does, in fact, go on. Flats will always shrink when families grow and houses suddenly become far too large when children fly the nest. Priorities shift and by clients and buyers are taking a realistic, long term view on the market. My buyers are buying for the next five to ten years and most of my clients are West Londoners moving locally.”

He says upsizers in Chiswick are getting really good deals in the post-Brexit vote environment with houses available at lower prices and the most attractive mortgage deals he has ever seen. He believes that this is also a good time for first time buyers to enter the market.

Other areas seeing good performance in London are Islington, Belsize Park, Primrose Hill and Notting Hill. These areas have seen strong price performance so far this year according to figures from Zoopla quoted in the research.

Zoopla’s data also highlighted that Hammersmith and Fulham was one of the worst performing areas in London for price growth so far this year.

Demand levels in Prime Central London (PCL) are recovering after two years of declining buyer interest according to emoov. They are at 13% on average at the moment up by 39% over the last year.

Knightsbridge has enjoyed the largest annual increase with Chiswick second with a rise of 11% compared to the demand rate last year.

Fulham suffered the second largest decline since the start of the year at -14%.

Russell Quirk, founder& CEO of eMoov.co.uk said, “Finally, some good news for London’s high-end homeowners who have seen their property potential decrease substantially over the last two years. Despite many fearing the worst for London’s high-end market post-Brexit, the previous chancellor sucker punching the Prime market with repeated stamp duty blows, and with election uncertainty still hanging thick in the air, many areas of prime central London have performed better than the capital as a whole, a reversal of previous trends for sure. It would seem areas of the market have really started to thaw since the start of 2017, seeing static levels of demand since last year and the start of this one, but then enjoying some sizable turnarounds since.”

August 5, 2017