Is The Million Pound House The 'New Normal' For W3?

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Price of average terrace in Acton now over £900,000

The average price of a home in Acton has moved back towards record levels with the strongest buying interest so far this year in larger properties.

According to the Land Registry, in the W3 post code area during the first three months of 2016 the average price paid was £626,110 up by 33.5% compared with the same period last year. This brings the level very close to the all-time high seen during the third quarter of 2014.

Part of the reason for the rise in the average is the higher proportion of houses that have been selling in the area compared with flats.

The most expensive property was a detached house on Goldsmith Avenue, it went in January for £1,940,000. Two others on that road have changed hands for over a million so far this year. In addition, one on Emanuel Avenue went for £1,350,000 and one on St Dunstans sold for £1,100,000. Around a quarter of the houses sold in Acton this year have been for over £1 million.

The price of the average terraced property in the area has risen by 23.6% over the last year to over £900,000. Some local agents believe that the so-called Crossrail effect and the continued availability of otherwise scarce family houses will result in further rises in the price of this kind of property.

The majority of sales are still flats with the highest prices being paid in Leythe Road (£587,000) and Perryn House on Bromyard Avenue (£576,000).

The Land Registry’s March data for London shows a 13.9% rise over the last year to £534,785. This is higher than any other part of the country and makes London average twice the average for any other part of the country including the South East.

Annual growth of 6.7% in March brings the average house price in England and Wales to £189,901.

Over the last year prices in the London Borough of Ealing rose by 10.3% to £507,058.

The latest survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has revealed that growth in the private and public housing sectors in London slowed down considerably. Private housing workloads rose at their slowest pace since Q4 2012, with only 20% more of those working in the sector reporting a rise in activity rather than a fall over the first quarter of 2016. During the last quarter of 2015 that figure was 44 per cent.

This easing in the private housing sector has not been offset by any increase in the construction of public housing, with growth in this sector remaining broadly unchanged from the previous quarter, and just 11% more surveyors reporting a rise rather than a fall in activity.

RICS Chief Economist, Simon Rubinsohn said, “On the surface, it might seem surprising that we are witnessing a slowdown in the construction sector just a few months after hearing the Chancellor’s ‘We Are The Builders’ speech, given the Government’s significant commitment to this sector. One might well ask why growth in private housing workloads is softening at a time when policy is firmly focussed on the creation of new starter homes. We have long held the view that starter homes cannot be the only solution. There is an issue around the availability of land on which new houses can be built, and we would like to see more being done to free up private brownfield sites.

“Our survey tells us that planning delays are one of the biggest barriers to growth in the construction sector. We have recommended that councils work together to create a team of emergency planners who can parachute into boroughs that are experiencing significant delays, therefore reducing a major growth barrier.

“That said, we cannot discount the climate of uncertainty caused by the forthcoming EU referendum. We know that a range of sectors have been affected by these issues as investors look to delay.

In a forthcoming edition of the ActonW3.com newsletter there will be a complete listing of recent property sales in the area. To register to receive it .

Acton Property Prices (January - March 2016)
Area	Detached	Sales	Semi-det	Sales	Terraced	Sales	Flat/ mais	Sales	Overall Ave	Total Sales
W3 0	0	0	635000	2	843000	6	331650	3	665723	11
W3 6	1463333	3	860833	3	1116982	11	378051	19	734507	36
W3 7	0	0	643250	2	621000	5	411125	16	476935	23
W3 8	0	0	711667	3	855714	7	433075	16	579008	26
W3 9	0	0	1130000	4	0	0	413875	8	652583	12
Total	1463333	3	842429	14	911717	29	403163	62	626110	108
Change in Quarter	80.7%	50.0%	-9.4%	27.3%	9.0%	-9.4%	-8.9%	-33.3%	8.3%	-21.7%
Change in year	67.2%	200.0%	-0.5%	7.7%	23.6%	70.6%	17.2%	-21.5%	33.5%	-1.8%
Change in three years	-	-	28.2%	-44.0%	64.4%	0.0%	35.8%	-51.6%	61.6%	-40.7%
Change in five years	-	-	42.8%	-30.0%	93.6%	141.7%	76.9%	1.6%	85.7%	16.1%
Change in ten years	-	-	83.3%	-53.3%	166.9%	-23.7%	94.5%	-47.5%	127.4%	-41.9%

 

Acton Property Prices (October - December 2015)
Area	Detached	Sales	Semi-det	Sales	Terraced	Sales	Flat/ mais	Sales	Overall Ave	Total Sales
W3 0	0	0	780000	1	734200	10	434167	6	631000	17
W3 6	810000	2	756667	3	914667	9	446525	20	619191	34
W3 7	0	0	560000	1	839583	6	402806	31	475907	38
W3 8	0	0	1026800	2	773828	6	517560	20	608849	28
W3 9	0	0	1082488	4	1190000	1	411095	11	627625	16
Total	810000	2	908504	11	826390	32	441997	88	578600	133
Change in Quarter	-19.6%	-50.0%	-15.8%	-60.7%	2.3%	6.7%	8.8%	-35.3%	0.7%	-32.8%
Change in year			18.2%	-47.6%	-0.6%	68.4%	22.1%	-4.3%	17.1%	0.8%
Change in three years			35.9%	-66.7%	50.2%	14.3%	41.2%	-25.4%	39.2%	-25.7%
Change in five years			53.9%	-52.2%	76.9%	39.1%	73.0%	1.1%	59.7%	-2.2%
Change in ten years			120.9%	-66.7%	136.3%	-28.9%	117.5%	-29.0%	114.4%	-34.2%

May 12, 2016