One Bedroom Flats Tipped as Hammersmith's Best Bet

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But overall average price slips back from all time high in winter months

The cold, wet winter months took a toll on Hammersmith's property market, with the average price in the W6 post code area in the first quarter of 2014 slipping back. According to Land Registry figures, the level fell by 3.8% from the all-time high seen at the end of last year back below the three quarters of a million mark.

The number of sales, predictably, also slumped by 23% from 135 to 107. However, this news isn't as bad as it might first appear. The latest quarter's average is still up 17.6% on the same period last year.

Sales meanwhile are up by a very strong 57.4% over the first three months of 2013 and that was even more the case for flats which saw sales surge by 75.0% compared with the same period last year.

And flats, particularly one bedroom properties, will continue to perform well in 2014, predicts Michael Hodgson of agents Douglas and Gordon.

"There is a degree of catch up with one bedroom flats," he says, "made possible with greater availability of credit and perhaps, too in more outlying areas, benefiting from the Government’s 'Help to Buy' scheme. From a rental perspective and, therefore, from an investment point of view, one bedroom flats are simply easier to let."

And while flat prices dropped in the last quarter by 5.8% to an average of £424,364, they bounced back at the start of 2014 by 3.5% to reach £446,869.

Over the longer term flat prices have underperformed those of houses in the area with the latter more than doubling over the last decade whereas flats are up by 'only' 69.5%

There is also no sign of prices easing at the top end of the market. The penthouse apartment in the Fulham Reach development is currently on the market for £8,950,000.

Over the last twelve months, London as a whole has seen a rise in average values of 12.4% making it the strongest performing area in the country. The average house in the capital now costs £414,490.

For England and Wales as a whole, Land Registry figures show that the average prices is up by 5.6% over the last year to £ 169,124 although they are down compared with February.

Repossession volumes decreased by 31 per cent in January 2014 to 979 compared with 1,420 in January 2013.

The most up-to-date figures available show that during January 2014 the number of completed house sales in England & Wales increased by 46 per cent to 63,123 compared with 43,373 in January 2013.

The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million in January 2014 increased by 61 per cent to 1,011 from 628 in January 2013.

A detailed listing of properties sold recently in the area will be appearing in a forthcoming edition of the Hammersmith newsletter.

 

Hammersmith Property Prices (January - March 2014)
Area	Detached	Sales	Semi- detached	Sales	Terraced	Sales	Flat/ mais	Sales	Overall Ave	Overall Sales
W6 0	1950000	1	3032500	2	1422405	10	444248	28	845805	41
W6 7	0	0	0	0	1566071	7	423241	17	756567	24
W6 8	0	0	0	0	917833	6	401563	16	542364	22
W6 9	0	0	0	0	1182500	4	521866	16	653993	20
Total	1950000	1	3032500	2	1311983	27	446869	77	727546	107
Last quarter	34.5%	-50.0%	43.7%	-60.0%	-4.2%	-27.0%	3.5%	-18.9%	-3.8%	-23.0%
Last year	-	-	-	-	31.5%	12.5%	8.5%	75.0%	17.6%	57.4%
Last three years	-	-	192.3%	-33.3%	60.4%	-18.2%	34.5%	42.6%	36.3%	18.9%
Last five years	-	-	-	-	83.8%	50.0%	54.7%	381.3%	41.6%	214.7%
Last ten years	-	-	549.8%	-33.3%	145.7%	-35.7%	69.5%	-29.4%	113.2%	-30.5%

 

Source: Land Registry

 

May 16, 2014