Chiswick's estate agents appear divided as to whether the rise in UK interest rates is good or bad for the moribund local property market. The increase coincided with the release of the latest W4 postcode sales figures, as reported on local news website
ChiswickW4.com and show little revival from the low level of activity seen over the previous year.
Just 92 Chiswick properties have been reported as sold to the Land Registry in the third quarter of 2017 at an average price of £948,780, which is down by 5.7% from the same period last year.
The data indicates that the turnover has made a small recovery (though it is down on down on the same three months in 2016), as more sales are likely to be reported for the period. Prices seem to be stuck in a holding pattern with the overall average oscillating above and below the million pound mark for nearly two years.
Christian Harper at Harper Finn: "Whilst these latest figures suggest that the volume of sales has improved, we must remember that they reflect ‘the season’ when the majority of people move within the annual cycle. I think it's fair to say that transaction levels, number of instructions and prices achieved by Chiswickians is fairly gloomy. Some suggest that selling homes in Chiswick will continue to drag along the bottom until 2021. Well after the Brexit dust has settled."
Demand vs supply
Despite the general lack of activity there does seem to be continuing interest in certain types of property with sales of large family houses still going through. There were a number of homes changing hands for over £2million including a six bed semi in Netheravon Road which sold for £3,285,000.
Christian added: "It's easy to be doom and gloom however let's try to focus on the positive. People still want to move to Chiswick and people still need to live in houses. Whilst governments keep falling over each other with bureaucracy and don't build enough new houses in London, demand will continue to exceed supply. Although this is an avoidable disaster for the next generation, in the medium to long term, prices will continue to rise. It's only a matter of getting the timing right for you."
In the immediate future the impact of higher interest rates has yet to be felt. There is a view held by some local agents that buyers might want to move as quickly as possible to lock in fixed rates that remain low which means that Christian is not ruling out a mini-boom in the early part of 2018.
Read the full article
here including detailed postcode analysis of the Chiswick property market.
