Property prices up 18% but sales slow

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Mixed news for local agents in latest numbers

The latest set of figures from the Land Registry are showing a sharp rise over the last year with the price of the average property up by an impressive 18%

However at the same time volumes continue to be extremely depressed with only 135 properties changing hands during the three months to March 2005. This is just over half the level seen in the same quarter last year. Several agents have had to lay off staff and there are continued rumours of branch closures. The squeeze appears to be on the larger chains who anecdotally are losing market share to the nimbler local independent agents.

The rise in prices also needs to be treated with a degree of caution. The base for comparison is a period in the first quarter of 2004 when prices dipped only to recover soon after. Anyone who bought a house between January and March 2004 may have cause for celebration but prices on average are down over the last six months.

There is also a great deal of variation within the market. Whereas house prices have been strong flat prices actually fell over the last twelve months albeit marginally.

There was activity in the top end of the market with 5 houses in Chiswick changing hands for more than £1,000,000. Several very attractive properties in this bracket remain on the market including Said House which is being sold through Fletchers Estates and was recently feature in BBC's 'The Apprentice'.

Chiswick's million pound sales this quarter
Address	Date	Price
2, Marlborough Crescent, W4 1HF	02-Feb-05	£1,750,000
38, Dukes Avenue, W4 2AE	21-Feb-05	£1,391,000
42, Bath Road, W4 1LH	18-Mar-05	£1,299,500
58, Grove Park Gardens,   W4 3RZ	13-Jan-05	£1,165,000
62, Hartington Road, W4 3TU	28-Jan-05	£1,028,000

The figures show that the average price of a Chiswick property is now £411,737. Prices in London rose by 9.83% over the last year and 10.27% for the country as a whole.

The decline in volumes already appears to be taking its toll with Chestertons going into administration. However, the residential side of this business is continuing to operate and no agent has closed its doors yet. According to one local agent some of their competitors have made only a couple of sales in Chiswick if that so far this year.

Property Price Data

1 - Bedford Park and the north side of the High Road

2 - The south side of the eastern end of the High Rd down to the river at Corney Reach

3 - The Grove Park area and over to Strand on the Green

4 - The west of Chiswick between the A4 and Chiswick High Rd - (a high concentration of flats)

5 - The north west of Chiswick - Acton Green mainly

Property Prices in Chiswick Jan-Mar 2005

Area	Detached		Semi-Detached		Terraced		Flat/Maisonette		Overall
	Av Price £	Sales	Av Price £	Sales	Av Price £	Sales	Av Price £	Sales	Av Price £	Sales
W4 1	0	0	1226900	5	566859	11	271785	14	539164	30
W4 2	0	0	667642	7	491277	9	275482	14	431724	30
W4 3	922750	4	477500	5	443122	10	255250	16	416963	35
W4 4	0	0	0	0	0	0	244090	11	244090	11
W4 5	0	0	466312	4	440714	7	234944	18	316525	29
Total	-	4	717178	21	491166	37	255613	73	411737	135

Property Prices in Chiswick Oct-Dec 2004

Region/Area	Detached		Semi-Detached		Terraced		Flat/Maisonette		Overall
	Av Price £	Sales	Av Price £	Sales	Av Price £	Sales	Av Price £	Sales	Av Price £	Sales
W4 1	1781666	3	0	0	658500	14	308727	10	653750	27
< W4 2	0	0	879158	6	484163	19	233445	22	417230	47
W4 3	0	0	597100	15	463040	10	265336	23	410200	48
W4 4	0	0	523333	3	0	0	266141	23	295817	26
W4 5	0	0	477750	6	375588	17	233247	24	315945	47
Total		3	622265	30	490558	60	255343	102	407648	195

Property Prices in Chiswick Jul-Sep 2004

-Region/Area	Detached		Semi-Detached		Terraced		Flat/Maisonette		Overall
	Av Price £	Sales	Av Price £	Sales	Av Price £	Sales	Av Price £	Sales	Av Price £	Sales
W4 1	0	0	957990	10	508888	20	278216	25	485692	55
W4 2	0	0	1035125	8	487801	27	341330	35	477116	70
W4 3	704750	6	613250	15	485758	23	242480	33	423396	77
W4 4	0	0	880833	3	0	0	268913	23	339519	26
W4 5	0	0	459325	6	394099	26	302829	51	342732	83
Total	-	6	772812	42	466327	96	290617	167	417964	311

Source: Land Registry

Copyright notice: All figures in this article are based on data released by the Land Registry. The numbers are derived from analysis performed by ChiswickW4.com. Any use of these numbers should jointly attribute the Land Registry and ChiswickW4.com. Note these figures may differ slightly from numbers previously published on this site as the Land Registry has revised its historic data.

November 10, 2004