Another record price for Harpenden

Talking of property currently on the market, we've just seen the most expensive house in St Albans be overtaken by a new listing on Marshal's Drive, and now Harpenden has been put firmly on the map with a £7million property at Annables Lane. 7 bedrooms, 8 reception rooms, a conservatory, a swimming pool and four of the bedrooms appear to have en-suite facilities.

You could sleep in a different room every night (just so you don't get bored), then go for a morning swim and enjoy your orange juice in the conservatory before taking a turn around the impressive and spacious grounds. A perfect lifestyle choice!

The property is currently listed with Hamptons International in St Albans, and John Curtis (in association with Hamptons Intl) in Harpenden.

Interestingly, a Hamptons International branch has recently been involved in a massive landmark case involving The Property Ombudsman, The Advertising Standards Authority and The Competition Markets Authority for being instrumental in a price fixing cartel along with two other agents and a newspaper, restricting competition and distorting consumer choice. The senior management deny knowledge of the price fixing strategy as you can see from the article, however all firms have been heavily fined as a result and the incident has triggered a wider investigation into estate agency as a whole. I suppose there is some solace in the approx. £105,000 client fee (and approx. £21,000 client VAT bill) from selling Annables Lane which will go some way to cover the £775,000 fine.

It's also interesting to note that new portal On The Market has been rumoured to be a target for the CMA under this investigation since it acts in a cartel-like fashion in the view of many agents. The reasoning behind this is that On The Market is an 'agent owned' portal rather than an independent third party company. When joining, agents were forced to part ways with either Rightmove or Zoopla since On The Market insisted on agents only using one other portal as a condition of membership. Some have viewed this and other behaviours as anti-competitive, however the CMA have made no comment on whether this is to be investigated. Speculation on this is high and it will be interesting to see where it goes.

But back to the point, this property is absolutely lovely and will make a beautiful home for somebody who has done very well for themselves - and why not enjoy that wealth by buying a beautiful home nestled in the British countryside. Contact our friends at John Curtis in Harpenden or the team at Hamptons International in St Albans to arrange a viewing.