In fact, according to independent London estate agents, James Pendleton, around 33% of postcodes in the capital saw prices continue to rise over the same period, suggesting it’s not all doom and gloom for London homeowners.
The Nationwide House Price Index reported that house prices fell 0.5% on average during 2017, however asking prices increased by at least 5% in more than one in 10 (12%) of the capital’s postcode districts last year.
In total, great swathes of the capital across 36% of London postcodes beat the average, which James Pendleton’s experts believe has been dragged down by plummeting prices in prime central London giving a distorted impression of the wider market.
In North Kensington (W10), average asking prices rose an impressive 27.6% to £1,165,346 over the last year, while the Olympic Park (E20) enjoyed a 20.3% uplift in prices to £667,033. South of the River Thames in West Wimbledon (SW20), average asking prices rose 15.2% to £1,014,983.
The table below shows the ten London postcodes that experienced the biggest uplift (%) in asking prices in 12 months:
|
Postcode area |
Average asking price - December 2016 |
Average asking price - December 2017 |
% change |
|
W10 North Kensington |
£913,108 |
£1,165,346 |
27.6% |
|
E20 Olympic Park |
£554,503 |
£667,033 |
20.3% |
|
SW20 West Wimbledon |
£881,054 |
£1,014,983 |
15.2% |
|
UB2 Southall South |
£413,846 |
£474,574 |
14.7% |
|
E13 Plaistow |
£341,938 |
£390,811 |
14.3% |
|
SW8 South Lambeth |
£1,271,126 |
£1,447,881 |
13.9% |
|
TW4 Hounslow West |
£379,902 |
£426,599 |
12.3% |
|
BR8 Swanley |
£399,815 |
£445,303 |
11.4% |
|
RM2 Gidea Park |
£506,525 |
£562,923 |
11.1% |
|
E7 Forest Gate |
£459,708 |
£510,476 |
11.0% |
In terms of actual values, more than a fifth (22%) of London postcodes saw average asking prices increase at least £10,000 over the last year. Lucky homeowners in North Kensington (W10) can celebrate as asking prices jumped more than £250,000, while those in South Lambeth (SW8) will have seen prices boosted by £177,000 on average.
Lucy Pendleton, founder director of independent London estate agents James Pendleton, said: “London homeowners needn’t despair in spite of relatively gloomy Nationwide figures. It is important to remember that statistics like these always smooth out radical differences between different areas rather than drilling down to specific neighbourhoods.
This means that big differences in the fortunes of districts that can have their own economic weather system are lost unless you look closer at what’s actually happening at ground level in much of the capital.
Our research shows that it’s too early to write London’s incredible growth story off, even if some of the more expensive properties are having to adjust to a slightly different reality, mainly prompted by Brexit.”
