Sales Slow and Prices Dip in Shepherd's Bush in Winter
But the average home price is still up 13.7% over the year
The number of home sales in Shepherd's Bush plummeted along with temperatures during the last quarter of 2014, with just 93 properties changing hands, compared with 170 in the previous quarter.
This quarter, which includes the run-up to Christmas and the festive holiday is traditionally a quiet time for estate agents, but in 2014 sales of all types of property showed a substantial drop. The number of flats sold almost halved, down from 121 to 65 while sales of terraced houses fell from 44 to 25.
In common with neighbouring areas in West London, there was also very little activity at the top of the market, with just three semi-detached houses being sold.
Prices were also on the slide between October and December, with the average down by 11.8%, from £680,551 to £599,553.
However this dip was from a peak achieved between July and September, when the average surged by a huge 39.1%, and it is still up 13.7% over the year.
John Horton of local agents Horton and Garten says that the market has noticeably slowed since last summer, but adds: " With the unbelievable growth over the last 18 months, many would agree that a period of stabilisation was inevitable. Some sellers are concerned that they’re not achieving the heights others were earlier in 2014 – although their home (despite the loss of momentum) would still be worth considerably more than this time last year.
" The volume of completed sale transactions in west London has certainly been lower and arguably one of the main catalysts to soaring house prices earlier in 2014 was buyer demand outstripping supply. In some recent cases, however, homes have seen up to a 5% drop in agreed prices since the end of May '14, which we now believe to be the 'spike point' of the 2014 sales market.
" We would prefer to see a fairer and more stable market, with more of a level playing field, so people can confidently feel they are able to move on in 2015 and remain positive and optimistic about what the year will bring for our clients, new and old."
London continues to be the area of the country seeing the strongest price growth. During December the average price in the capital was £464,936 up another 1.8% compared to the previous month to bring the annual price rise to 16.8%
The December data shows a monthly price increase of 0.6 % bringing the annual price change to 7.0% and the average house price in England and Wales to £177,766.
The number of property transactions has increased over the last year. From July 2013 to October 2013 there was an average of 75,201 sales per month compared to 82,067 for the same period in 2014.
Simon Rubinsohn, RICS Chief Economist, said, 'Despite the slowdown, there is optimism that the stamp duty reforms will deliver a 2-5% boost in both sales and prices over the next 12 months, despite members in London expecting sales to decrease by between 5-10% and prices to decrease by 2-5%, with larger properties and/or those in prime areas expected to see the biggest price decreases.'
The numbers below are subject to revision as is it usual that some properties are added late to the Land Registry's database.
| Shepherd's Bush Property Prices (October - December 2014) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area | Semi-detached | Sales | Terraced | Sales | Flat/ maisonette |
Sales | Overall Averages | Overall Sales |
| W12 0 | 0 | 0 | 606404 | 11 | 428864 | 11 | 517634 | 22 |
| W12 7 | 180000 | 1 | 695000 | 2 | 414272 | 9 | 441538 | 12 |
| W12 8 | 1525000 | 1 | 1151667 | 3 | 505579 | 24 | 611211 | 28 |
| W12 9 | 2000000 | 1 | 1114556 | 9 | 472721 | 21 | 708327 | 31 |
| Total | 1235000 | 3 | 861858 | 25 | 469338 | 65 | 599553 | 93 |
| Change over quarter | -46.4% | -40.0% | -18.5% | -43.2% | -1.4% | -46.3% | -11.8% | -45.3% |
| Change over year | 49.4% | -66.7% | -0.6% | -13.8% | 22.6% | -30.9% | 13.7% | -30.1% |
| Change over three years | - | - | 42.6% | -30.6% | 48.6% | -3.0% | 43.9% | -9.7% |
| Change over five years | -14.1% | -40.0% | 57.9% | -24.2% | 59.2% | -3.0% | 40.1% | -11.4% |
| Change over ten years | 53.6% | |||||||
| Shepherd's Bush Property Prices (July - September 2014) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area | Semi-detached | Sales | Terraced | Sales | Flat/ maisonette |
Sales | Overall Averages | Overall Sales |
| W12 0 | 499999 | 1 | 730445 | 18 | 472082 | 10 | 633407 | 29 |
| W12 7 | - | - | 805714 | 7 | 419729 | 44 | 472707 | 51 |
| W12 8 | - | - | 1478586 | 7 | 553069 | 28 | 738172 | 35 |
| W12 9 | 2757375 | 4 | 1447626 | 12 | 484482 | 39 | 859924 | 55 |
| Total | 2305900 | 5 | 1057037 | 44 | 475782 | 121 | 680051 | 170 |
| Change over quarter | 100.5% | 400.0% | 16.9% | 91.3% | 17.6% | 0.0% | 39.1% | 17.2% |
| Change over year | 97.9% | -28.6% | 4.4% | -21.4% | 25.5% | 2.5% | 12.2% | -6.6% |
| Change over three years | 167.9% | -54.5% | 78.3% | 2.3% | 47.9% | 65.8% | 47.8% | 33.9% |
| Change over five years | 220.6% | -28.6% | 94.6% | 22.2% | 60.1% | 128.3% | 61.9% | 77.1% |
| Change over ten years- | 98.9% | - | ||||||
Source: Land Registry
February 11, 2015
