Category: News

Every few weeks, another headline appears warning that house prices are about to crash. The reason changes each time. One month it is mortgage rates. The next it is inflation. More recently, geopolitical tensions and uncertainty in the Middle East have been blamed for higher borrowing costs and weaker buyer confidence. Yet despite all these… Continue reading Why a Harpenden House Price Crash Looks Increasingly Unlikely

As an agent in the Harpenden property market, I believe it is important to offer local homeowners a balanced and realistic view of both the Harpenden and national property markets. Far too often in the last few years, national newspaper and social media headlines have focused on doom and gloom, creating the impression that the… Continue reading Harpenden Property Market: How Q2 2026 Compared with the UK

“The Summer Market Is Gathering Some Strong Momentum … But Could A New PM and More Political Uncertainty Put The Brakes On?” Welcome to your Q3 2026 market update for Harpenden and surrounding areas. Pop the kettle on, grab your favourite biscuit, settle into your usual chair and let’s have a proper catch-up. We’ll look… Continue reading The Harpenden Market Update: Quarter Three 2026

There is a quiet unspoken problem sitting inside the Harpenden property market. In the last two years, only 64.4% of the homes that came on the market have ended up selling. Meanwhile, the remaining 35.6% of Harpenden homes, they didn’t sell. They simply sat, drifted, reduced, and eventually disappeared from the market unsold. That gap… Continue reading The Harpenden Asking Price Trap

If you are a homeowner or landlord in Harpenden and thinking about selling in the coming months, one question tends to rise above all others. How long is this going to take? It is a fair question. Moving home is not just about price, it is about timing, certainty, and momentum. And while every property… Continue reading 61 Days to Sell a Harpenden Home … Unless You Get This Wrong

For decades, the flat was the natural starting point for many first-time buyers. The first rung of the ladder. The affordable option. The stepping stone to something bigger. For landlords, it was a dependable investment. For first-time buyers, it was often the only way in. That logic has not disappeared, yet it is starting to… Continue reading Harpenden, St Albans and the Flat Problem: Is the National Shift Coming Closer to Home?

Are you contemplating moving home in Harpenden, St Albans or the surrounding villages during the next 9 months? You may be a landlord wondering whether you should grow your portfolio or sell off a few properties? Or perhaps you’re a first-time buyer considering if now is the best time to move? Understanding whether the current… Continue reading Q1 2026 – Was it a Buyers’ or Sellers’ Market?

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggest something rather unexpected. After years of worsening affordability, the picture has begun to improve. Wages have risen faster than house prices since 2021, nudging the headline affordability ratios in the right direction. On the face of it, that feels like progress. Across the country, the average… Continue reading Why the Affordability Crisis Isn’t What You Think

The property market is frequently misunderstood, especially amid dramatic news stories. Here’s what Harpenden and St Albans homeowners need to know to avoid costly traps. To understand the property market, it is important to consider the broader context. Nationally, house price growth is treading water at 2.5% a year, and there were 663k UK homes… Continue reading Harpenden & St Albans Homeowners, Avoid the Overpricing Trap

Someone asked what impact the situation involving Iran might have on the UK property market. The main area to watch is interest rates. Over the past six months, mortgage markets had been gradually improving. Swap rates, which largely determine the cost for lenders to offer fixed rate mortgages, had been trending downwards. That allowed lenders… Continue reading Oil Prices, Mortgages Rates and the UK Property Market

When most homeowners decide to put their Harpenden home on the market, they assume one thing. The chances their home will sell are very good. After all, why wouldn’t it? You ask an estate agent to place your home on the market, the board goes up, pictures of your home appear on the portals and… Continue reading Why Harpenden’s Higher-Priced Homes Are Bucking the National Trend

Many Harpenden rental problems do not start with bad landlords or difficult tenants. In Harpenden, as in many towns across the country, they usually start with good intentions and silence. Silence about rent reviews. Silence about maintenance. Silence about what happens when life changes. Let me give you a scenario we see more often than… Continue reading The Myth of the “Kind” Harpenden Landlord

In early 2023, property forecasters predicted a significant UK housing downturn over the next two years, citing rising interest rates following Liz Truss’s departure. Halifax expected an 8% drop, Savills predicted a 10% drop, and Nomura Bank forecast up to a 15% drop. While these gloomy forecasts successfully grabbed headlines and generated clicks, the actual… Continue reading Harpenden & St Albans House Price Crash in 2026?

If you are a Harpenden homeowner or landlord thinking about selling your property, one of the first questions you will ask is simple, how long will it take? The honest answer is that it depends. Location, property type, number of bedrooms, price point and market conditions all play a part. To give Harpenden homeowners some… Continue reading It Takes 81 Days to Sell a Home in Harpenden

What this means for Harpenden and St Albans homeowners In 2025, 23.63% of agreed property sales in Harpenden and 26.21% in St Albans did not complete, and this is more important than many homeowners think. In both Harpenden and St Albans, where sales chains are often longer and buyers are more sensitive to price, this… Continue reading 23.63 % of Harpenden & 26.21% of St Albans Home Sales Fell Through in 2025