Top 5 Average Price Change in London

Hammersmith and Fulham 1.7%
City of London 1.5%
Sutton 1.3%
Hounslow 1.2%
Islington 1.1%

House prices in Hammersmith
and Fulham (April 04)

Weighted Overall Average Price: £330,500
Weighted Overall Average Price Change: 1.7%
Terraced: £465,000
Semi-detached: £545,000
Detached: £811,500
Flat/Maisonette: £281,000

Average house prices in Hammersmith and Fulham have now risen to £330,500. According to the report, the market in HF "is being driven by a lack of supply and
good demand that has appeared since the beginning of the year. Prices achieved have been closer to the asking prices, which indicates a stronger market."

W14 is among the London micro hot spots identified by the survey: "Kensington remains one of the most exclusive places to live in the world, with the world famous districts of Knightsbridge and Chelsea surrounding this most cosmopolitan area. Famous restaurants, exclusive shops and excellent bars all lend themselves to Kensington, with people looking to live here just for the exclusivity. The market is strong here at the
moment, with vendors holding out for the whole asking price and in some cases receiving more."

John Wriglesworth, Hometrack's housing economist, comments: "The London market has definitely recovered from the slump it experienced in 2003. Rising incomes and a return of confidence within the City, as well as mortgage lenders offering larger loans relative to household income, all combine to sustain growing buyer demand. The prospect of increasing interest rates does not appear to have deterred buyers. There seems to be no let up in demand, with new buyers registering with London agents up 4.3%, relative to an increased supply of new properties for sale of only 3.1%. Sellers are also increasingly obtaining close to asking price. Together with prospects of significant City bonuses returning this year and ongoing low unemployment, house prices look set to continue to rise in the Capital. Reflecting these positive factors, we have raised our house price inflation forecast to 10%."

Average house prices in the capital have now risen to £248,600. This is in stark contrast to 2003, where the highest increase for the whole year was 0.4% recorded in November. With a 2.6% cumulative rise for the year to date and consumer demand and confidence remaining strong, Hometrack has revised up its forecast for the Capital to 10% (from 6%).

Sales price as a percentage of asking price has risen to 95.4%, the highest level achieved since August 2002 (95.9%), and suggests that buyers are increasingly having to offer close to the asking price in order to agree a deal. This also indicates that the Capital's house prices will be pushed up further in the coming months.
Houses are taking an average of 3.7 weeks to sell, down from 4.0 in March's survey. The average number of viewings per sale has also fallen to 12.0 compared to 12.4 in March. These figures indicate that buyers are acting more quickly and decisively when purchasing property.

Hometrack provides monthly surveys of house prices and market trends in England & Wales. The Hometrack Index is compiled from over 7,500 reports which are received monthly fro m up to 3,500 Hometrack approved agents.

Hometrack Web site