FULHAM SQUARED Do the math on Fulham property on a pounds per square foot basis and some interesting trends show up... You’ve probably heard it all before, estate agents barking on about what you’ll get for ‘X’ pounds per square foot or touting cielings on prices based upon what can and can’t be achieved... but what’s the real story, where’s the growth (or not) and where’s it all headed? We find out. Pounds Per What? Before we start, let’s talk about “pounds per square foot”, or “£/sqft”. You’ll often hear agents and anyone you know who’s looking to buy or sell talking about it. This is a convenient measure of the price of a property calculated by dividing the price by the gross internal area of the property measured in square feet. It’s a useful figure, as it allows more accurate comparisons between property of different sizes and prices on the market at the same time. I say more accurate, but in reality, these are often fairly inaccurate as the figure is skewed by the size of the property (smaller properties tend to have a higher £/sqft), position on the road, floor, finish, and any number of other variables, not least the floor planner (or unscrupulous estate agent’s) interpretation of the actual size of the property. That said, most estate agents’– and many buyers’ – valuations start from a £/sqft estimate of a property’s worth. For example, if the average £/sqft sold price on your road was £750 this year, and your property is 1000 sq ft in size, it’s probably worth about £750,000. If you plan to ask
for, or indeed pay, more than this, there needs to be justification in terms of better internal design, layout or finish, garden size, market conditions, position on the road, extension potential, etcetera. The Story So Far Since 2008, property prices in Fulham have gone one way... up. Looking at sold prices over the last few years reveals that the average flat on a good road in SW6 increases in value by about £750 a week, and that top end houses have gone up by as much as £750 a day, every day of the year, every year, over the last five years. To give you a handle on where prices have been moving, and by how much, we’ve illustrated the upward trend in £/sqft figures for a selection of roads across Fulham (see infographic overleaf).
FAR FEWER FULHAM BUYERS HAVE THE CASH AND INCOME COMBINATION REQUIRED TO EXTEND ABOVE £2M. What’s interesting is that in general, the more expensive the property, the faster prices have risen. For example houses on Chipstead Street have gone up by an average of £92 per square foot per year. That might not sound like a lot, but with average sizes being 2,500 sq ft on the road, that’s £230,000 per year for the average house. 05
What’s Been Driving It? Considering the spectacular growth of house prices here, you might be forgiven for wondering what’s behind it, and whether it’ll continue. Here’s our synopsis of the most important factors. Credit Fuelled Growth The credit crunch in 2008 didn’t put an end to the mechanics behind ballooning mortgage credit, at least not as far as the Fulham market and its individual participants are concerned. There’s still a credit fuelled chain reaction going on that’s helping to drive up prices. brik.co.uk