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Residential property prices continued to rise up to September according to recently published land registry data but figures from hometrack.co.uk suggest sharp falls in November
The numbers suggest that the average price of a flat has risen by over 20%. Also released this week were more up to date figures from hometrack.co.uk showing a 3% fall in W4 property prices for November. The numbers also showed an increase in the number of sellers registering with agents and a fall in the number of buyers suggesting that there could be further local weakness in property prices to come. Chris Deering a financial analyst and local property owner has once again analysed the numbers. Earlier in the year his research showed that according to the Land Registry data there had been little rise in Chiswick property prices compared to before September 11th 2001. He says that the figures show that the market has fully recovered from the downturn after the World Trade Centre attack and moved ahead in the latest quarter. He added "This was a very strong quarter for local property prices. The underlying price strength is masked by the moribund nature of the top end of the market. Prices of terraced houses in Chiswick are up 17.6% over the last year and flats are up more than 20%."
Chris does point out that these numbers are subject to some distortion. "The Bedford Park (W4 1) micro-market had been clearly having a really tough time over the previous 9 months with virtually nothing at the top end moving. This has changed according to the latest numbers. The average price of a property in this area was £558,084 compared to £339,210 in the previous quarter. What this shows us not necessarily that prices are rising but there is some liquidity in the market again with the buyer strike for the very top end of the market over." If the numbers for Bedford Park are excluded from the numbers then both flats and terraced houses rose by around 16% for the last year. Chris remains cautious on the long-term prospects for the market. He stated, "The only way prices are sustainable at these levels are if interest rates remain low and the economy picks up. Personally I'd be looking to lock in current interest rates by fixing the rate on a mortgage." November 21, 2002 Land Registry Numbers for Chiswick Don't believe the hype on Chiswick property Rare chance to acquire Norman Shaw property in Bedford Park No Clear trend for Chiswick property |
Land
registry data released this week shows that property prices in Chiswick continued
to be strong up to the end of September. The average property was priced at £409,008
a rise of 10% compared to the same period last year.