What's happening to the local housing market? ...

by Julian Fielding

Saturday 21st November 2009

The last six months have seen the return of a better housing market to Teddington. We experienced approximately 18 months of falling prices until March this year, which we now consider to have been the bottom of the local market. From March there has been a gradual return to a more stable market with double the amount of buyers registering between June and September, as compared to the same period last year.

We have been pleased at the recovery in sales and have seen prices increase by approximately 20% since March. It is not completely surprising after such a rapid fall in prices based on a very low volume of sales that prices would rebound quickly once confidence returned earlier this year. It is interesting to reflect on the last major recession in house prices from 1989-1993 when prices fell back by 20-25% over four years and compare it to the current recession where prices fell by a similar level in just 18 months.

Behind the recovery in prices is the return to the market of professional investors looking to put their money back into property and first time buyers with good deposits hoping to take advantage of temporary lower prices. We are seeing a firm bounce back in the Teddington market which, barring any nasty surprises, we anticipate continuing for the remainder of this year and into 2010.