Latest figures show Brentford home sales have halved

The prospect of large numbers of unoccupied flats in the Brentford area is looming following the publication of the latest set of figures from the Land Registry. They suggest a sharp fall in the number of transactions in the local property market. Home sales fell by over 50% compared to the same time last year.

With only 76 properties changing hands in a three month period the market is as quiet as it was during the period of uncertainty following the September 11th attack on the World Trade Centre. The rest of the country also saw a fall in volumes but not to the same extent as Brentford.

With hundreds of new units still to come to the market a glut of properties is looming unless agents can sell properties more effectively.

Flats and maisonette prices staged a strong recovery over the quarter rising by nearly 30% although this only reflects a recovery from the sharp fall of the previous quarter. Over the last year flat prices are down.

The figures show that the average price of a Brentford property is now £278,639. Brentford prices are down by 0.4%over the last year compared to a 6.2% rise for London and a 11.8% national increase.

Stephen Rodgers of local property finance specialist Berkeley Consultants commented, "Although we are experiencing typical down valuations within the remortgage market, purchased property does not seem to be having the same problem. This would suggest to me that agents are valuing accurately at the moment."

The figures suggest a worrying time ahead for local estate agents if the trend continues. With such a small turnover of property in the area, a shake-out of the sector is likely this year if a pick up in volumes does not happen. If prices start to fall too, 2005 could be a miserable year for local estate agents.

Property Price Statistics, Oct - Dec 2004

February 13, 2005