Hammersmith House Prices Go Up

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Survey show sellers have increased prices by 14.3% in January

Asking prices for homes in Hammersmith and Chiswick increased in January 2009 according to Primelocation.com, a website dealing with sales from London's most expensive areas.

The survey, which focuses on the most expensive neighbourhoods in London, showed prices had increased the most in Hammersmith and Chiswick, where sellers increased prices by 14.3% month-on-month.

Primelocation.com's head of research, Andrew Smith, said: "Last month we noted that the recent upturn in asking prices in prime areas after six months of falling values provided tentative evidence that the market was stabilising. This third month of rising prices adds further weight to that conclusion."

Last week, Halifax reported a 1.9% increase in house prices nationwide during January, while agents across the country said they had enjoyed a big increase in buyer inquiries.

The number of inquiries from potential buyers rose for the third month in a row in January, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.  Jeremy Leaf from RICs says, “The latest survey provides further evidence of the eagerness of buyers to try and pick up bargains.”

Hammersmith estate agency Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward said there had been a rise in people looking for homes, particularly foreign buyers from Italy or Russia.

Matthew Rothery, an estate agent at Kinleigh Folkard and Hayword in King Street, Hammersmith, said: "There's been increased activity. It's at the very early stages.

"There's a lot more buyers out there, but it's still taking a while to find them a property.

"We are seeing more international buyers."

The weak pound means that overseas buyers will find many more bargains in the property market than a year ago.

However, in 2008 the number of mortgages lent to house buyers fell last year to its lowest level since 1974, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) announced on 12 February.

There were just 516,000 mortgages granted to house buyers, down 49% from the level seen in 2007.

The CML believes that lending is likely to fall even further this year.

February 12, 2009