Cladding issues seen as factor as only 15 sales reported in three months


House in Clifden Road one of only five sold during the period

The lack of activity in the residential property market has continued according to the latest official figures.

Data released by the Land Registry shows that only 15 homes changed hand in the TW8 postcode area during the last quarter of 2020. Although the pandemic has hit sales the fall in the number of transactions appears to be greater than adjacent areas where activity during the pandemic has been supported by the government’s stamp duty holiday.

The average price during the period was £468,423 which is 4.9% down on the same three months of 2019 but it is hard to say with any certainty that this represents the true trend in the market given the small number of transactions.

Although one local agent disputes that the figures represent a true picture of the market, such low volumes continue to raise concern locally about the ability to absorb the huge supply of new flats in the area which is in the pipeline. It is generally thought that units with river or canal views will find buyers but selling other flats may prove challenging.

The top price paid during the period was for a house on Clifden Road which went for £806,900. Only five houses in total changed hands.

Ben Madden of Brentford based estate agent Thorgills said, "Current Land Registry data is perhaps not proving the best indicator for Brentford’s housing market. Whilst market activity locally is no doubt affected by the ongoing cladding saga, affecting so many homeowners in the Brentford area, which is made up of 75% apartments; and of course the pandemic continues impacting the speed at which property transactions are able to progress, it's our view that the market is significantly more buoyant then the data would suggest. To offer some real-time data, Thorgills helped more Brentford sellers exchange in Q4 2020, than the current data shows for completions within the same period, for the whole market.

"The data is often updated retrospectively and transactions are now, on average, taking 120 days to progress to completion, compared with a more traditional average of 90 days – meaning what we are looking at isn’t necessarily indicative of market sentiment. The impending end to the stamp duty holiday, on 31st March, has led to a significant spike in properties being placed under offer over the last few months, meaning there is the very real possibility that by the end of 2021, when data is fully updated, we may look back on this period very differently.

"Our view remains that the local property market has performed robustly, under circumstances never before seen, and it will continue to do so in the future."

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

The Nationwide House Price Index for January showed that the annual rate of increase i slowed to 6.4% from 7.3% in December, while average house prices have fallen by 0.3% month-on-month, from £230,920 in December to £229,748 in January.

Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide, said, “To a large extent, the slowdown probably reflects a tapering of demand ahead of the end of the stamp duty holiday, which prompted many people considering a house move to bring forward their purchase. While the stamp duty holiday is not due to expire until the end of March, activity would be expected to weaken well before that, given that the purchase process typically takes several months (note that our house price index is based on data at the mortgage approval stage).”

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February 12, 2021