It's been a little while since I wrote about this topic so I
thought I'd review it to see if anything had changed since my last
article which you can find here.
First I'll look at the list of the most expensive streets in Harpenden.
Most expensive
Clearly
the data is sparse for West Common Close but it shows that, with an
average transaction value of £3.6m this is the number one most expensive
place to buy property in Harpenden.
Park
Avenue South tops Park Avenue North by just over £170,000 in capital
value, on average. Swiftly following on their heels are Cross Lane and
Oak Way. Interestingly these areas are split between the avenues in
Central Harpenden and roads set to the south of Harpenden around East
and West Common, which may come as little surprise to many but it's
worth noting that a significant number of properties in the avenues
areas are easily competing and surpassing the East and West Common
neighbourhoods which formerly were, according to many, the ‘Holy Grail’
of Harpenden living – perhaps we will see more of this balancing with
further building of luxury property in central Harpenden in years to
come.
For a bit of fun, the
mortgage payments for a property on West Common Close would come to
approximately £7,753 per month at 3% over 30 years, and that's if your
LTV is 50/50. How do you feel about spending £93,000 per annum just on
your mortgage? Of course, these property purchases work differently at
this level, but even still it's a considerable investment and
fascinating to put into real terms. It would be a bad day indeed if
interest rates change for the worse!
Least expensive
An
interesting matter to note is that, while these are merely average
values and do not show the lowest priced property, it does show that
even the most affordable areas in Harpenden are close to the national
average house price. This perhaps isn't good news for those moving
within the town, or for those moving in, but for anyone imminently
moving away from the area, any equity gained here will stand you in good
stead for purchasing more land and more space elsewhere in the country.
Again,
in terms of mortgage payments and following the same figures as before
although this time using a 10% deposit, (3% interest rate and a 30 year
repayment term) the monthly payments would be a far more manageable
£817pcm or £9804 per annum - although do bear in mind this is likely to
be a once or two bed flat or starter home. Food for thought!
Highest turnover
Now
moving on to the highest turnover streets (where properties change
hands most frequently) we see that Station Road tops the chart for
properties with a large number of families moving in and out of homes on
that road. This data is a little predictable in so much as the roads
concerned are either main roads or long roads with higher numbers of
residential properties on them, but still it's an interesting metric to
note to those looking to move locally or those looking to move into the
town (budget permitting of course) as these may be roads to keep an eye
on as properties are likely to come up in these locations more often.
I
hope you've found this useful, interesting, informative, or even just a
bit of a fun insight into the Harpenden market as it currently stands.
If you're interested to know more, please go ahead and get in touch on
info@hawkandchadwick.co.uk
