Agents blame mansion tax fears for recent fall in price of houses in SW15

The price of flats in Putney has continued to rise to record highs so far this year with the average now above half a million pounds.

There were 110 flats or maisonettes reported as sold to the Land Registry in the first quarter at an average price of £532,722 which is up by 24.2% on the same period last year.

The latest figures from the Land Registry for the SW15 post code area show that the average sale price in the first quarter of the year £669,013, which although well off the peaks seen in the latter half of 2014, is still 15.7% up on the same three months last year.

The reason for the recent fall in the overall price average is the relative underperformance of the family house sector of the market. The number of sales has halved so far this year and there has been very little activity at the top end of the market which property experts blame on fears about the imposition of a mansion tax. After the election result there is a widespread feeling that this section of the market will rebound strongly.

The most expensive property sold in the area so far this year is a house in Hazlewell Road which changed hands for £2,850,000. It had originally been marketed at £3,100,000.



The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) UK Residential Market Survey says that London house prices were back into positive territory in April, after seven months in decline, with short term predictions suggesting further rises.

28% more chartered surveyors saw prices rise in London in April, the first positive reading in the capital after seven negative months in the run up to the election. Price expectations over the next three months are also positive, with 11% more respondents expecting prices to rise further.

New instructions fell sharply with 36% more chartered surveyors seeing a decline, while the capital also saw an increase in buyer enquiries for the first time in a year as both these factors contributed to the pick-up in prices. Activity levels over the last month decreased most sharply in London where 21% more respondents reported a fall rather than rise in newly agreed sales

52% more respondents expect prices to rise over the next twelve months in London and the predicted average percentage price rise for houses in the capital over each of the next five years is 5.4%.

Meanwhile, in the lettings sector, supply has been rising steadily in London for three years now but the growth in tenant demand is not far behind. As a result, 39% more chartered surveyors expect rents to rise over the next three months which is the highest reading since the first half of 2011.

Simon Rubinsohn, RICS Chief Economist, said: “It is conceivable that the decisive outcome to the election could encourage a pick-up in instructions to agents and ease some of the recent upward pressure on house prices but it is doubtful that this will be substantive enough to provide anything more than temporary relief. Alongside an increased flow of second hand stock, it is absolutely critical that new government focuses on measures to boost the flow of new build.’’

According to Land Registry figures London as a whole continued to see the highest price rises in the country in March rising by 11.3% to £462,799. This compares to a 5.3% increase for England and Wales which brought the average price up to £178,007. The peak was achieved in November 2007 when the average reached £181,049.

The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million decreased by 19 per cent to 851 from 1,049 a year earlier. Repossessions in England and Wales decreased by 45 per cent to 590 compared with 1,081 in January 2014
London was the region with the greatest fall in repossession sales with only 65 taking place in January 2015.

Copyright notice: All figures in this article are based on data released by the Land Registry. The numbers are derived from analysis performed by PutneySW15.com. Any use of these numbers should jointly attribute the Land Registry and PutneySW15.com.

May 15, 2015