The State of Property in Streatham

By heartstreatham.co.uk on 29 April 2015
A conversation with Joe Laurence of Beresford Residential

What is the state of the property market in Streatham currently?

"Despite the pace of the market having slowed down since Spring/Summer 2014, we have continued to see strong demand for property in the Streatham area with most correctly-priced properties attracting offers within the first few weeks of marketing. Streatham is still particularly popular with first time buyers, however family-sized homes are also in high demand due to buyers being priced out of the surrounding areas such as Balham, Brixton and Dulwich."

Where are the log-jams, and what type of homes are in the most demand?

"Land Registry data shows that less than 10 properties have sold for more than £1.5m within the SW16 postcode, so at the moment even the largest of family homes are likely to be comfortably below the proposed Mansion Tax threshold. With property sales of £1.5m plus much more common in some of the neighbouring postcodes, many see Streatham as an area where such a tax is unlikely to affect prices in the coming years. At the other end of the market there is strong demand for flats between £300k and £500k, and terraced houses between £700k and £1m."

Are values rising or stagnating?

"Demand has been gradually strengthening as this year has gone on despite the looming general election. Given that there are still likely to be some buyers that are putting off plans to buy a house until later in the year, we feel that it is highly likely that prices will finish the year at a higher level than where they were at the start of 2015."

What prospects for the market in Streatham post-election?

"Inner London has far fewer opportunities to build new homes and increase the housing supply compared to towns and cities away from the capital. Limited supply of property in Streatham, particularly period conversions and houses, means that as long as demand continues to increase, so will prices. With the huge investment and improvements along Streatham High Road, demand at all price levels is, in our opinion, only likely to increase further."

How is the possibility of a mansion tax affecting the market from first-time-buyer properties through to the top end of the market?

"Buyers of property valued between £1.5m and £2m are likely to be increasingly cautious at least until after the general election. This is likely to make it much harder for anyone trying to sell a property in this price bracket, however this is likely to fuel demand in the £1m-£1.5m price bracket, territory that represents a growing number of detached and semi-detached properties in Streatham."