Islington has bucked the negative annual trend and has shown positive overall house price growth over the past year, says research from Chesterton Humberts.
The Chesterton Humberts' June Poll of Polls shows that the average house price in Islington has increased 0.5 per cent from June 2008, and is now £418,990. It is one of only seven local authorities out of 170 in the UK to show positive annual growth.
Islington also has the fourth most expensive house prices, after Kensington and Chelsea, the City of Westminster and Camden.
Graham Stubbs, of Chesterton Humberts' Islington branch, attributes the area's house price growth to a number of factors:
Lack of stock
"There is a serious lack of stock within Islington, especially for houses. There seems to have been little provision for new housing stock in the area, so competition for those coming to the market is extremely fierce and makes upgrading difficult."
Mortgage availability
"Mortgage availability wasn't a huge stumbling block for the buyers that we dealt with during 2008. While they may not have been able to borrow as much as they would have liked, invariably they were still being offered finance. This meant that come the beginning of 2009 there was a lot of pent-up demand from serious buyers."
Confidence and competition
"At the beginning of 2009 there was a noticeable change in the attitude amongst buyers.
"In January everyone was looking for a bargain; by February/March, the bargains weren't there but as long as buyers got a deal they were happy.
"Since April, competition has been so fierce that buyers have little choice and have to pay fair value; in some cases top end prices are close to those seen in 2007."
Proximity to the City
"It is clear from Goldman Sachs' recent results that the City is recovering. Due to the transport links and proximity to the City, Islington is the first to benefit.
"Also, the majority of our current buyers work in the legal profession, a sector of the market that can prove very affluent during dark economic times."
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Since April, competition has been so fierce that buyers have little choice and have to pay fair value; in some cases top end prices are close to those seen in 2007.
