Local agents concerned as prices and volumes appear to have fallen

House on Parkmead went for £2,191,000. Picture: Right Move

Local estate agents believe that the housing market in the SW15 area is being held back significantly by traffic problems.

The latest figures from the Land Registry show a low level of activity with only 46 sales reported so far this year.

The usefulness of this data released is being reduced to extent as the reporting of transactions is being delayed due to Covid restrictions. Nevertheless, people involved in a day to day basis in the market do believe that there has been a significant dip in activity so far this year.

Some blame the late announcement of the extension of the Stamp Duty holiday saying that many moves were cancelled early in the year because it was thought possible that the transaction couldn’t be completed before the expiry of the exemption. Then, when it finally was extended, not all of these moves were progressed with.

There are increasing concerns that the attractions of the area are being diminished by the ongoing issues with traffic, particularly in the centre of Putney and that this is reducing activity in local residential property.

One local agent said, “The underlying problem that really needs to be dealt with is the congestion and pollution. The most common reason I hear for people choosing to buy in other areas is the traffic in Putney High Street which has been a real problem since the closure of Hammersmith Bridge.

“Even though relatively few people visit the office these days they do go to the High Street and what they see is really off putting.

“Quality of life is a much bigger factor for people post-pandemic and Putney and Roehampton have so much to offer in that regard but it is difficult to convince people that these difficulties are only temporary.”

The average price of a property sold in the SW15 postcode area so far this year was £754,092, down 11.5% from the end of last year. The figure for the fourth quarter of 2020, which earlier topped £1,000,000 was revised down significantly as late reported sales were recorded.

Buyers remained willing to pay large sums for good quality family houses with £2,910,000 changing hands for a six bedroom house in Parkmead in Roehampton but the sales of this kind of property are well down on the previous quarter. It remains to be seen if this is due to technical factors or if there has been a very sharp decline in activity.

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




Nationally the property market seems to have experienced a bounce in April after the announcement of the stamp duty holiday extension reaching a new record high average price of £238,831.

Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said, “Annual house price growth accelerated to 7.1% in April, only slightly below the peak of 7.3% recorded in December and up from 5.7% in March. In month-on-month terms, house prices rose by 2.1% in April, after taking account of seasonal effects, the biggest month rise since February 2004.

“Just as expectations of the end of the stamp duty holiday led to a slowdown in house price growth in March, so the extension of the stamp duty holiday in the Budget prompted
a reacceleration in April.

“However, our research suggests that while the stamp duty holiday is impacting the timing of housing transactions, for most people it is not the key motivating factor prompting them to move in the first place. For example, amongst homeowners surveyed at the end of April
that were either moving home or considering a move, three quarters said this would have been the case even if the stamp duty holiday had not been extended."

May 7, 2021