Agents say numbers are misleading although Putney is the ideal place to stay

House on Lower Common Road went for £4,750,000. Picture: Google Streetview

Local estate agents are warning SW15 residents to treat data showing property prices in the area at record levels with caution though they are not disputing it remains a great place to live.

The figures from the Land Registry show a 20.5% rise over the year during the second quarter for property sale prices in the SW15 postcode area.

The average price of £977,013 is an all-time high however, even though this is based on a relatively high number of transactions (78), local property experts are telling people to be wary when interpreting the numbers. They believe that the average has been temporarily inflated by transactions being rushed through to beat the deadline for reduced Stamp Duty which came at the end of June. Because higher priced properties benefit more from the exemption, a higher proportion of house sales were completed that would normally be the case. It is expected that the number may be revised down as more sales are recorded. Processing of sales by the Land Registry has slowed considerably during lockdown.

Allan Fuller of Allan Fuller Estate Agents says, “Thanks to the Stamp Duty changes that were introduced in 2020 there was a surge in activity in the property market despite Covid and lock-downs. We experienced hight demand for houses locally. People generally wanting more space for home working, and gardens for pets acquired during lockdown, or just being able the get outside into fresh air rather than stuck indoors.

“ Some of the properties we sold were for people wanting to move out further into the country, but actually this was less that some media reports, maybe that is because we are so lucky here with plenty of open spaces nearby.

“Even though the deadline to get the benefit has passed demand has remained strong, in fact flat sales, which slowed for a while, are on the up. More people are returning to work in central London, many may be on a 2 or 3 days a week, in the office, and the rest of the time home working.
Whether for easy access to your work, your rest or play, Putney is the ideal place to stay!”

Four of the houses reported as sold during the second quarter went for over £3,000,000 including a detached house on Lower Common South that went for £4,750,000.

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




The average price of a property in the UK was £265,668 at the end of June according to the Land Registry a rise of 13.2% over the year and 4.5% over the month. London’s rise was well below this level with prices in the capital up by just 6.3% over the year. The North West by comparison saw a rise of 18.6%

Between May and June 2021, UK transactions increased by 74.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis as volumes recovered from lows seen during the lockdown.

The Nationwide’s House Price Index suggests that the market paused for breath in July with prices falling by 0.5% compared with the previous month.

Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said, “Annual house price growth slowed to 10.5% in July, from the 17-year high of 13.4% recorded the previous month. In month-on-month terms, house prices fell by 0.5%, after taking account of seasonal effects, following a 0.7% rise in June.

“The modest fallback in July was unsurprising given the significant gains recorded in recent months. Indeed, house prices increased by an average of 1.6% a month over the April to June period – more than six times the average monthly gain recorded in the five years before the pandemic.

“The tapering of stamp duty relief in England is also likely to have taken some of the heat out of the market. The nil rate band threshold decreased from £500,000 to £250,000 at the end of June (it will revert to £125,000 at the end of September). This provided a strong incentive to complete house purchases before the end of June, especially for higher priced properties. For those purchasing a property above £250,000, the maximum stamp duty saving reduced from £15,000 to £2,500 after the end of June.

“The stamp duty changes drove the number of housing market transactions to a record high of almost 200,000 in June as home buyers rushed to beat the deadline. This was around twice the number of transactions recorded in a typical month before the pandemic and 8% above the previous peak seen in March.

“For example, the number of transactions involving properties bought for £500,000 or higher increased by 37% over the 12 months to March 2021, compared to a rise of 2% for all properties. As a result, between Q1 2020 and Q1 2021 the share of transactions involving a property valued at £500,000 or above has increased from 12% to 18%.

“There has also been a shift in the composition of property types that have been transacting. Over the past six months the proportion of sales involving detached and semi-detached properties has increased, while the proportion involving flats has declined significantly.”

September 24, 2021