Local agent & Putney resident Tim Warren commented:

‘Lies , damned lies and statistics’ - Possibly a little harsh to use Disraeli’s famous quotation in relation to the latest Land Registry figures , except that they bear very little relation to what is actually happening to Putney property prices .

Land Registry figures do not specifically compare like with like , only a broad vaguely collated sweep and currently using a very small sample of sold properties with no acknowledgement of the square footage nor the state of modernisation of each individual house or flat.

There is no doubt that the market is in a state of uncertainty and it would be optimistic to imagine that the prevailing financial problems will not continue have a detrimental impact on house prices in SW15 as the recession takes hold and until confidence in the economy is restored . Whilst unemployment rises, businesses close down and bankruptcies multiply there will be little good news to encourage buyers en masse back to the market.

Here on ‘the street’ , I am in daily contact with estate agents, vendors and applicants as well as conveyancing solictors, bank valuers and City contacts, everyone of them are in agreement that effectively local values have dropped by fifteen per cent and have further to fall . I have heard of nothing that has actually sold at anything close to the peak nor of any current offers and yet certain estate agents continue to value at figures which are in excess of anything we have experienced before, in a crude attempt to snare instructions . In these difficult times, agents have a responsibility to lead and to give realistic advice, not to patronise vendors with false expectations and have the market cluttered with daft prices which will not be achieved . There are some very good buyers out there, not vultures, simply looking to pay a fair price which reflects market conditions, Putney also has many excellent agents who have a good grasp on reality and tell it as it is .

Of course we all appreciate that Putney is a fine place in which to live and raise a family but it has no special immunity from factors outside of the area although it may well be the case that prices drop here less than other parts of London, but dropping they are! One hopes that most people will be able to ride out the storm and look ahead to brighter times which will surely return."