'The Problem With Brentford is Nobody Wants To Leave'
Estate agents react to dire figures for property market sales
House on Somerset Road went for over a million
The number of transactions in the Brentford residential property market has fallen back to levels last seen at the height of the financial crisis nearly a decade ago.
So far in the third quarter of 2019 only 30 sales have been reported to the Land Registry in the TW8 postcode area.
The main reason for the decline in volumes has been a sharp fall in the turnover of flats. Only fifteen were sold and, of those, just two were newly built. With over 2,000 new flats coming to the market if approved housing projects proceed, there are still concerns about a glut.
However, according to one local estate agent the problem is not that nobody wants to move to Brentford but that nobody wants to leave. Henry Lane, Head of Culture, at Thorgills Estate Agents says, “The feeling among local residents is not one of gloom or stagnation, rather of anticipation that Brentford is becoming something worth staying for. The craft workshops at The Maker Station, the freshly baked pastries at Rye By The Water and the delicious loaded fries at the Black Dog, not to mention the perennial smorgasbord of culture at Watermans Arts Centre, are all just a taste of what's blossoming in Brentford. A new day nursery opening by Ferry Quays shows that young professionals who may have previously moved away to start a family are choosing to settle in Brentford long term.”
Along with the good schools in the area, access to the river and a thriving business district with world class companies combined with good relative value compared with neighbouring areas, Henry believes the only issue with Brentford at the moment is the lack of stock. He claims his firm is responsible for about a third of sales in the area at the moment and is often achieving close to record prices for equivalent properties. ‘So much for gloom and stagnation!’, he says.
Ray Upcraft, a partner at Russell Collins estate agents is more cautious, saying, “We have found that the TW8 market has followed a similar trend to the likes of Ealing whereby the traditional Victorian terraces have become much easier to sell than new build apartments. The problem with the latter is the market is flooded with them and that will continue now the football ground is moving and housing hundreds of new flats on the site.”
In addition to the stadium enabling development Ray points to the Watermans Art Centre, Goddards’ development proposal, the Police Station as just a few of the projects which will add to the supply.
He remains optimistic about houses though saying, “Once the football ground moves from Griffin Park to its new abode it will make the area even more attractive to those who cannot afford Ealing or Chiswick as the Victorian terraces are a similar style to those in the aforementioned areas.”
Quite what prices are actually doing in the area at the moment is difficult to say because of the paucity of transactions. The average price of a home in Brentford has risen by 12.3% to £522,816 over the last year but it is hard to be sure this is representative given the low volumes. The relative resilience of activity for houses as opposed to flats seems to be the main reason for the rise in the average.
The top price made during the most recent quarter was £1,055,000 for a 4 bed freehold semi-detached house on Somerset Road.
The Land Registry House Price Index for August 2019 shows that overall prices were down by 1.4% in London which made it the worse performing area in the UK. For the country as a whole the average price rose by 1.3% to £234,853.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) August 2019 UK Residential Market Survey reported a flat trend in demand (new buyer enquiries) at the national level, following a few months in which enquiries had increased modestly. Newly agreed sales moved slightly further into negative territory. Alongside this, new instructions to sell were broadly unchanged for the third successive report.
The Bank of England’s Agents‘ summary of business conditions – 2019 Q3 reported that the housing market continued to soften, reflecting deteriorating supply and demand. Estate agents reported softer demand in the secondary market, though demand for lower-priced properties was more resilient.
The UK Property Transactions Statistics for August 2019 showed that on a seasonally adjusted basis, the estimated number of transactions on residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater was 99,890. This is 0.9% higher than a year ago. Between July 2019 and August 2019, transactions increased by 15.8%.
The Bank of England’s Money and Credit release reported that mortgage approvals for house purchase (an indicator of future lending) decreased in August 2019 to 65,500. This is down from the previous peak seen in July 2019 of 67,000 but remained within the narrow range seen over the past 3 years.
| Brentford Property Prices - (July- September 2019) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area | Semi-det | Sales | Terrace | Sales | Flat/ mais |
Sales | Overall Ave | Total Sales |
| TW8 0 | 0 | 0 | 529786 | 7 | 498119 | 8 | 512897 | 15 |
| TW8 8 | 670000 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 397289 | 7 | 479102 | 10 |
| TW8 9 | 507500 | 2 | 728333 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 640000 | 5 |
| Total | 605000 | 5 | 589350 | 10 | 451065 | 15 | 522816 | 30 |
Change |
1.3% | 150.0% | 4.6% | -9.1% | -5.7% |
-64.3% |
4.6% |
-46.4% |
Change |
-6.2% | 66.7% | 0.7% | -16.7% | 4.4% |
-74.6% |
12.3% |
-59.5% |
Change |
21.8% |
-16.7% | -0.2% | -16.7% | -22.3% |
-83.1% |
-9.3% |
-72.0% |
| Change in 5 years |
28.3% | -16.7% | 19.1% | -60.0% | 18.9% |
-78.6% |
18.4% |
-70.6% |
Change |
110.9% | 25.0% | 114.3% | 42.9% | 84.2% |
-58.3% |
106.7% |
-36.2% |
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 Land Registry House Price Index for August 2019 shows that overall prices were down by 1.4% in London which made it the worse performing area in the UK. For the country as a whole the average price rose by 1.3% to £234,853.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) August 2019 UK Residential Market Survey reported a flat trend in demand (new buyer enquiries) at the national level, following a few months in which enquiries had increased modestly. Newly agreed sales moved slightly further into negative territory. Alongside this, new instructions to sell were broadly unchanged for the third successive report.
The Bank of England’s Agents‘ summary of business conditions – 2019 Q3 reported that the housing market continued to soften, reflecting deteriorating supply and demand. Estate agents reported softer demand in the secondary market, though demand for lower-priced properties was more resilient.
The UK Property Transactions Statistics for August 2019 showed that on a seasonally adjusted basis, the estimated number of transactions on residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater was 99,890. This is 0.9% higher than a year ago. Between July 2019 and August 2019, transactions increased by 15.8%.
The Bank of England’s Money and Credit release reported that mortgage approvals for house purchase (an indicator of future lending) decreased in August 2019 to 65,500. This is down from the previous peak seen in July 2019 of 67,000 but remained within the narrow range seen over the past 3 years.
Regular updates on the local property market are published in the weekly BrentfordTW8.com newsletter.
November 19, 2019