Some comfort for beleaguered local estate agents

The latest official information released on home prices suggest that some life may be returning to the local property market.

Although prices were down slightly compared to the previous quarter there was a very marked recovery in the amount of transactions which rose by nearly 60% admittedly from historically low levels.

The average price of a Brentford home was down by 3.8% to £315,467 in the second quarter of this year compared to the first quarter when the market reached an all-time high. This still represents an 11.2% increase on the level seen in the same April to June period last year.

The long term trend now shows a very clear gap between price growth in houses and flats in the Brentford area. The average terraced house rose in price by 47.9% over the last five years compared with a rise of only 2% for flats.

The average house price in England and Wales stands at £180,781 in June, which is a decrease from last month. House prices in these two countries have fallen for ten consecutive months.

The average property price in London is currently £345,136, which is up 2.5% over the last year although the level has been falling for the last 5 months.

The numbers are subject to revision as usually some properties are added late to the Land Registry's database.

Brentford Property Prices, April - June 2008

Where do I live? Brentford TW8 postcodes are divided into three sectors, TW8 0xx, TW8 8xx and TW8 9xx. Broadly speaking, TW8 0xx covers areas east of Boston Manor Road, TW8 8xx goes west of Boston Manor Road, whilst TW8 9xx covers the areas to the north of the A4.

Source: Land registry

August 14, 2008