Buyers' interest switches to smaller properties
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The average price of a Chiswick property has fallen sharply according to the latest data released by the Land Registry.
During the last quarter of 2011, 183 properties were reported as sold at an average of £614,305. In the previous quarter the market had reached an all-time peak of over £700,000.
However, a detailed look at the figures shows that there hasn't been a generalised fall in prices in the W4 area. In a reversal of the trend seen over the Summer activity at the top end of the market has dried up with the number of detatched, semi-detatched and terraced houses sold falling sharply.
In contrast sales of flats were up by over 30% compared with the previous quarter. This surge in sales may be partly due to the exemption on Stamp Duty for first time buyers on purchases sales below £250,000 which expires next month.
Flat prices rose on average by 8.5% over the previous three months at a time when the overall average fell by 17.5% indicating that the headline decline has more to do with a change in the mix of properties being sold than a falling market.
Terraced houses also saw rises during the quarter with the average price for such a property in W4 £834,561 up by 15.8% compared with last year.
The December data from Land Registry's flagship House Price Index shows an annual price decrease of 1.3% which takes the average property value in England and Wales to £160,384.
The only region in England and Wales to experience an increase in its average property value over the last 12 months is London with a movement of 2.8% to £345,298. The North East experienced the greatest annual price fall with a decrease of 7.1% and the most significant monthly price fall with a decrease of 1.9%.
The most up-to-date figures available show that, during October 2011, the number of completed house sales in England and Wales decreased by 6% to 55,309 compared to 58,634 in October 2010. The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million in October 2011 decreased by 10% to 525 from 582 in October 2010.
Christian Harper of Oliver Finn agents (www.oliverfinn.com) commented that the figures showed a typical pattern, where large families did not want to move over the Christmas period, while flat and terraced house owners were happy to ' up sticks' at any time for the right price.
"Naturally as an Estate agent, seeing prices that represent an artificial fall in house prices is always concerning. In real terms, house prices in W4 haven't fallen and the latest figures show a typical pattern for the time of year to which this date is applicable.
"It is great to see that flats have shown a recovery as I was becoming increasingly concerned during 2011 that the ' first time buyer' flat market had stalled, which could have catastrophic consequences on the stability of the entire residential market. Terraced house prices have seen a huge increase in average price which I believe to be driven by the increased desirability of Chiswick, combined with a massive shortage of available stock".
Paul Connolly of Orchards said that they had found that the lack of supply had stumped sales in relation to larger properties.
"Our market experience is that a lack of supply has perhaps skewed these figures as we are experiencing high demand for homes at the high end. In terms of buyers we have an entire database of buyers who are keen on buying in the Chiswick area but at the moment the demand of larger properties is more than the suppy
"The supply and demand for apartments in Chiswick is on an even keel, we found. We have also been approached by houseowners lately enquiring about the market conditions. We are confident that the increase in sales for larger properties will slowly but surely come through in due course as supply increases " he commented.
W4 Property Prices - October - December 2011
| Area | Semi-Det | Sales | Terraced | Sales | Flat/Mais | Sales | Total Averages | Total Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W4 1 | 1471428 | 7 | 956996 | 12 | 366485 | 16 | 789935 | 35 |
| W4 2 | 0 | 0 | 806195 | 12 | 335304 | 11 | 580986 | 23 |
| W4 3 | 1178447 | 8 | 873612 | 12 | 288575 | 20 | 642061 | 40 |
| W4 4 | 1673333 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 377331 | 30 | 495149 | 33 |
| W4 5 | 0 | 0 | 728066 | 15 | 499030 | 37 | 565098 | 52 |
| Total | 1374865 | 18 | 834561 | 51 | 395681 | 114 | 614305 | 183 |
| Change in Quarter | -2.4% | -56.1% | 5.3% | -38.6% | 8.5% | 31.0% | -17.5% | -16.1% |
| Change in year | 41.1% | -40.0% | 15.8% | -28.2% | -4.2% | 26.7% | -0.2% | -4.2% |
| Change in three years | 26.9% | 63.6% | 27.6% | 54.5% | 34.9% | 165.1% | 15.9% | 110.3% |
| Change in five years | 48.4% | -51.4% | 44.8% | -35.4% | 21.5% | -9.5% | 18.4% | -26.2% |
| Change in ten years | 187.0% | -45.5% | 121.5% | -33.8% | 77.5% | -13.0% | 97.4% | -25.3% |
Roughly speaking the post code sector areas are as follows:
1 - Bedford Park and the north side of the High Road
2 - The south side of the eastern end of the High Rd down to the river at Corney Reach
3 - The Grove Park area and over to Strand on the Green
4 - The west of Chiswick between the A4 and Chiswick High Rd - (a high concentration of flats)
5 - The north west of Chiswick - Acton Green mainly
February 20, 2012