Stronger demand provides some relief for developers

The latest figures from the Land Registry will provide relief to local property developers and estate agents. After a prolonged period in the doldrums there is finally some evidence that demand is picking up although it remains unclear whether this will be sufficient to absorb the massive supply due to come onto the market. During June the average price of a TW8 property was £342,211.

Flat sales were up by 247% in second quarter compared to the same period last year. It is worth noting however that the absolute number of flats sold remains quite low in comparison to the size of some of the local developments. 59 units were sold in the three month period with the top selling blocks being Golden Mile House and Gilbert House.

Prices have risen slightly with the average TW8 property up by 7.4% over the last year. This may have more to do with the quality of units being sold than a general rise in prices.

Over the longer term local houses have done relatively well in price terms, up by 25.8% over the last five years and more than doubling in value over ten. Flats on the other hand have fallen in value over the last five years and are up by just 30% over ten.

London overall experienced an increase of 12.2 per cent in June compared to last year. In comparison to this, the figure for England and Wales as a whole was 8.4 per cent. London’s house prices are now around the same levels they were three years ago.

London's monthly change brings the average house price there to £338,027, while the average for England and Wales is £166,072.

Looking ahead some analysts are not optimistic that the current price strength will be maintained.

Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove, comments: “The number of new mortgages being approved each month is less than half the number of new sellers, with the imbalance being exacerbated by the increase of nearly 50% in the number of properties coming to market compared to a year ago. More aggressive pricing is now the order of the day, which means that conditions are ripe for a strong buyers’ market in the second half of 2010. This is likely to see the average price gains of 7% for the first half of the year wiped out by year-end, in line with Rightmove’s original forecast for the year of no net change in prices”.

The latest reported sales are given in the table below.

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.

Brentford Property Prices - June 2010

January 14, 2011