Quiet month sees prices fall below last year's levels

Chiswick property finished the year quietly with only 40 properties changing hands during the month of December. This is a low level of turnover even allowing for the time of year.

Prices in the W4 post code area averaged £696,420 according to Land Registry figures well below previous months which in many cases have seen levels above £1,000,000.

Of the sales in December, only 6 went for over £1 million compared to more than a third earlier in the year. The most expensive property sale in the period was a house in Gainsborough Road which went for £1,815,000.

This quiet month meant that the average for the third quarter £896,761 below the same period last year.

Nash Cohen of Faron Sutaria said, "The results are now showing what we have been experiencing since the recent Budget changes to Stamp Duty thresholds: a stimulus to the marketplace below the £900,000 mark and a down turn for the market over this price. The changes have effected the desired slow down to the top end of the market and the resultant upturn to the entry level in the market. This means it will be much less likely for owners with homes above £1m to trade their property with such regularity. It will also mean that developers will most probably focus on apartment development rather than large scale homes - which would be far less likely to sell in this new market place."

Alastair Hilton of Winkworth Estate Agents said, "2015 has started with strong demand for flats. There are also plenty of buyers for houses. However, they will not pay inflated prices for them. Any home that offers something special in the way of location or superior presentation, will still attract a purchaser. Once buyers realise that the Mansion Tax will not happen, the market for houses will become stronger again."

There were some transactions in the more expensive price bracket with two houses in Addison Grove changing hands during the last quarter of the year for £4,100,000 and £3,500,000 respectively.

Christian Harper of HarperFinn commented that he was not surprised to see the fall in the average house price but 'delighted' to see a much-needed boost in the flat market.

"In my 25 years of experience I have learned that the market begins with activity in the flat market. The flat owners typically buy the terraced houses, terraced house owners buy semi-detached houses and so on.  I am very pleased to see these healthy building blocks for a more promising 2015 market.  So far in 2015 I have seen little positivity and a genuine reduction in new buyers.  Most sales have been achieved with buyers that didn’t find in 2014 that are seasoned on pricing. These buyers are making lower offers using the multitude of negative spin that is currently available.

"If the strength of the flat market remains I feel that the 2015 market will remain on a fairly even keel with sensibly priced property selling while poorly advised clients remain dreaming.  Lettings on the other hand could be this years buzz word."

London continues to be the area of the country seeing the strongest price growth. During December the average price in the capital was £464,936 up another 1.8% compared to the previous month to bring the annual price rise to 16.8%

The December data shows a monthly price increase of 0.6 % bringing the annual price change to 7.0% and the average house price in England and Wales to £177,766.

The number of property transactions has increased over the last year. From July 2013 to October 2013 there was an average of 75,201 sales per month compared to 82,067 for the same period in 2014.

Simon Rubinsohn, RICS Chief Economist, said, 'Despite the slowdown, there is optimism that the stamp duty reforms will deliver a 2-5% boost in both sales and prices over the next 12 months, despite members in London expecting sales to decrease by between 5-10% and prices to decrease by 2-5%, with larger properties and/or those in prime areas expected to see the biggest price decreases.'

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December 2014 Property Sales in Chiswick

Property sales from November 2014

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Source: Land Registry

May 6, 2015