House prices rise 17% in Hillingdon

BREXIT and a decline in foreign investors have been blamed for falling house prices in two of west London’s most affluent areas.

Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham are the only boroughs in the capital where property values have fallen over the last year, according to online estate agent eMoov.co.uk.

In Kensington & Chelsea, nearly £80,000 was wiped off the value of an average house as prices slumped by 6%, while neighbouring Hammersmith & Fulham saw a drop of 3%.

Their fortunes are in sharp contrast to the rest of London, where prices have risen by an average of 13% over the last 12 months - adding nearly £53,000 to the value of a typical property. The average house price in 2015 across London was £419,474 which rose to £472,204 in 2106.

Hillingdon recorded one of the biggest rises, with the average house in the borough appreciating by over £59,000 - or 17%.

There were also sharp increases in Brent (16%), Ealing (14%) and Hounslow (12%).

eMoov’s figures come just a month after property website Rightmove suggested Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea were bucking the trend of falling house prices in the capital.

Russell Quick, founder and CEO of eMoov, ascribed the falling prices to a combination of stamp duty changes, a decline in foreign buyers and the impact of Brexit.

“It comes as no surprise that the only two boroughs to have seen a decrease in values over the last year are two of London’s prime central boroughs,” he said.

“Despite a lot of attempted smoke and mirrors by high street agents in those areas, the decline of London’s most prestigious property markets has been evident for a while now

“The most prominent factors in this decline have been the changes to stamp duty for buy to let and second homes, as well as the reduction of foreign interest in that particular area of London.

“With the capital suffering from an extreme shortage in terms of the supply of housing, some might argue that this might not be a bad thing.

“If this can go some way in levelling the playing field these properties could potentially be bought by someone who will actually use them as they are intended, as houses to live in all year round.”

In Hillingdon the average price in 2015 was £345,462, rising to £404,502 in 2016 with a change in value of £59,040, equalling a 17% rise.