Concern raised that higher stamp duty could hammer demand
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Sales of Kew Bridge flats continue to dominate the Brentford property market. In the latest figures released by the Land Registry for the last quarter of 2015 nearly 40% of sales in the TW8 post code area came just from the development on Pump House Crescent including Masson House.
If you include other units in surrounding developments then 60% of total sales are in this area.
It would appear that developers have sold the more desirable units earlier in the year because the average price of a flat fell below £500,000 in the last three months of 2015. Even so recent sales include two in Rothschild House for over £2,000,000.
For 2015 as a whole prices in Brentford are up by 27.8% but those gains are concentrated in flats with the price of the average terraced house unchanged.
Agents in the area are reporting sharply increased activity so far this year as buyers look to avoid increased stamp duty levels that will come into effect on 1 April for buy-to-let properties. Some local property experts believe that demand will fall sharply in the Spring once the higher tax rates are in place particularly in Brentford where a high proportion of the new developments are bought by investors rather than owner-occupiers.
Property prices across London rose by 12.4% in 2015 according to the Land Registry bringing the average price of a home in the capital up to £514,097. This was the highest rate of increase in the country.
The average property value in England and Wales was up by 6.4% £188,270. Monthly house prices rose by 1.2% since November 2015.
Sales and repossessions during October 2015, the most up-to-date figures available, show that the number of repossessions in London fell by 71%
The London housing market has seen a fall in newly agreed sales for a third month in a row according to the latest RICS UK Residential Market Survey. Despite an increase in demand across the capital 2% more surveyors have seen a fall in newly agreed sales over the last month, adding to the picture from October and November.
Their report for December 2015 has shown that demand for new properties has reached a three-month high, with Chartered Surveyors citing a rush to beat April’s stamp duty rise as the reason.
From April, buy-to-let investors will be required to pay 3% more in stamp duty charges than residential buyers looking to purchase the same home. Since the Chancellor announced these measures in the Autumn Statement last November, 10% more Chartered Surveyors in London reported a rise in new buyer enquiries but with new instructions flat prices are continuing to rise - average sales per surveyor are at just half of what they were in June 2014.
RICS Chief Economist, Simon Rubinsohn said, “The housing market has experienced an unusually buoyant December. Those in the industry have been speculating that this is the result of the Chancellor’s announcement last November. Potential buy-to-let investors are looking to pick up properties before the increased stamp duty levy comes into force in April. If that is the case, then we can expect to see the housing market heating up further over the next few months.”
The survey also predicted that house prices in London look set to rise by a further 5% per annum in each of the next five years, compared to a UK average of 4.5%, with 57% of contributors in the capital believing that property was either ‘expensive’ or ‘very expensive’.
A net balance of 25% of respondents reported that London house prices had risen since November, substantially lower than the national average of 50%, however price expectations remained strong with a 30% more London surveyors predicting a rise rather than fall in prices over the coming three months.
A list of properties sold in the Brentford area will appear in a forthcoming edition of the BrentfordTW8.com newsletter.
| Brentford Property Prices - (October - December 2015) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area | Detached | Sales | Semi-det | Sales | Terrace | Sales | Flat/ mais |
Sales | Overall Ave | Total Sales |
| TW8 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 504112 | 13 | 520135 | 88 | 518072 | 101 |
| TW8 8 | 0 | 0 | 487500 | 2 | 640000 | 3 | 475588 | 13 | 504314 | 18 |
| TW8 9 | 2175000 | 1 | 524000 | 3 | 599250 | 4 | 294409 | 11 | 493816 | 19 |
| Total | 2175000 | 1 | 509400 | 5 | 543523 | 20 | 492795 | 112 | 512938 | 138 |
| Change in Quarter | 16.8% | 0.0% | -6.2% | 25.0% | -3.8% | -15.8% | -0.7% | -10.4% | ||
| Change in year | 60.9% | 0.0% | 22.7% | 400.0% | -0.3% | 17.6% | 31.6% | -11.8% | 27.8% | -5.5% |
| Change in 3 years | 42.8% |
66.7% | 49.7% |
25.0% | 75.9% | 250.0% | 65.1% | 170.6% | ||
| Change in 5 years | 66.1% | 100.0% | 102.1% | 138.3% | 98.5% | 142.1% | ||||
| Change in 10 years | 79.4% | -13.0% | 83.2% | 60.0% | 82.6% | 27.8% | ||||
| Brentford Property Prices - (July - September 2015) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area | Semi-detached | Sales | Terrace | Sales | Flat/ mais |
Sales | Overall Ave | Overall Sales |
| TW8 0 | 480000 | 1 | 570333 | 9 | 558479 | 103 | 558729 | 113 |
| TW8 8 | 419500 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 378770 | 21 | 383862 | 24 |
| TW8 9 | 442500 | 1 | 591857 | 7 | 292000 | 9 | 424324 | 17 |
| Total | 436200 | 5 | 579750 | 16 | 512072 | 133 | 516640 | 154 |
| Change in Quarter | -5.9% | 66.7% | 5.7% | 0.0% | 1.7% | -0.7% | -0.1% | 0.0% |
| Change in year | -7.5% | -16.7% | 17.2% | -36.0% | 34.9% | 90.0% | 17.0% | 51.0% |
| Change in 3 years | -13.3% |
66.7% | 39.2% | 23.1% | 57.8% | 121.7% | 48.7% | 102.6% |
| Change in 5 years | - | - | 61.6% | -5.9% | 113.4% | 250.0% | 86.8% | 180.0% |
| Change in 10 years | 50.3% | -28.6% | 109.4% | -11.1% | 97.8% | 177.1% | 94.0% | 111.0% |
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
February 19, 2016
