A Deep Dive into Hendon Property Statistics Over the Last Few Years

Hendon is one of North London’s most popular suburbs. It’s also one of its best connected and offers residents easy access to Central London via its train station, and to major roads like the M1, A1 and the North Circular.

Like many once-rural places, it experienced a population boom with the arrival of the railway and officially became an urban district in 1894. It’s best-known for its connections with aviation and the Hendon Aerodrome is now the home of the RAF Museum – one of the area’s best-loved attractions. If you’re a fan of 1930s architecture, you’ll be spoilt for choice here and there are also plenty of modern properties on the market thanks to developments such as Beaufort Park and Colindale Gardens.

Hendon appeals to buyers of all ages. If you’re thinking about moving here, it makes sense to familiarise yourself with the property market and to find out how house values have changed over the years. Here’s a guide, outlining sales trends in Hendon over the last two decades.

An overview of Hendon’s property prices since 2000

Hendon’s rise in popularity has been nothing short of stratospheric in the last two decades and this is reflected in its house prices. The average value of a property here rose by over £400,000 during that time and sales volumes remained strong too. A few events, such as the EU referendum and the COVID-19 pandemic, have affected the housing market to an extent, but every time it’s recovered fairly quickly.

Even though Hendon’s property prices are substantially higher than they were, houses in this area still offer terrific value for money, especially when compared to the London average. There’s something to suit most budgets with everything on offer from spacious family homes to studio apartments.

2000 to 2008 – a booming start to the millennium

Hendon’s property prices increased dramatically at the start of the millennium. In 2000, the average cost of a house was £246,788 and an apartment was £133,957. Just four years later, these had risen to £396,584 and £223,543 respectively. Another four years on and the growth was showing no signs of slowing, with the average house priced at £519,505 and the average flat costing £250,391.

Volumes of sales were also high – particularly from 2000 to 2002. In 2002, 533 houses and 718 flats were sold, which marked a peak for the area. Although sales never quite reached this number again, demand remained high until 2008. At this point, experts predicted Hendon’s desirability would continue to grow. No-one could have foreseen the major event that was just around the corner, and its impact on the UK’s property market.

The financial crisis of 2008

The financial crisis affected many countries around the world, and the UK was no exception. It had a knock-on effect on the housing market, and properties fell in value in numerous locations.

The UK’s house prices tumbled by an average of 20 percent over the course of 16 months, and numbers of transactions also slumped – from 1.65million in the ten years leading up to the financial crisis, to just 730,000 in the year up to June 2009.

This was hardly surprising, given the circumstances. Mortgage lenders were warier of approving loans, and fewer homebuyers wanted to take on the financial commitment of a mortgage. At this time, industry experts were concerned about how long it would take the market to fully recover.

However, Hendon’s property market proved more resilient than many other places in the UK. Average house prices only dipped slightly in 2009 – down to £478,604 (from £519,505 the previous year), and apartments were even less affected, dropping by an average of just £13,000.

The same couldn’t be said for the area’s volumes of sales. In 2007 (pre-crisis), 668 apartments and 521 houses were sold. The year after, this had decreased to just 406 flats and 227 houses, and in 2009, they slumped even more.

The recovery years – 2008 to 2016

Hendon’s property market wasn’t too badly impacted during the financial crisis, and it recovered rapidly afterwards. By 2010, average house prices were back up to £602,553, and average apartment prices had risen to £271,113. These figures both marked record highs for the area.

The volume of sales was still low, however, even though property prices were increasing. At this point, apartments were proving to be more popular than houses and this was perhaps due to their affordability. The introduction of the Help to Buy scheme may have also had an effect, plus the removal of stamp duty for first-time buyers.

In 2013, the average value for a house in Hendon rose significantly to £691,145. Apartment prices were also growing at a formidable pace and in this year, hit an average of £315,800. Just two years later, the average house price had climbed to £832,341 and apartment prices had soared to £401,898. That, combined with an increase in transactions, demonstrated how sought-after Hendon was becoming.

The area was also transforming into a buy-to-let hotspot thanks to its relative affordability when compared to other parts of London. Tenants were drawn by the transport links and local amenities – something that landlords made sure to capitalise on.

2016 – the EU referendum and its impact on the property market

By 2016, the UK’s housing market had made a full recovery. Indeed, property prices were rising in most locations across the country – especially in London. Hendon was no exception, with average house values reaching £835,567 at this point. Apartments cost, on average, £416,404.

The EU referendum took place in June of this year and the Brexit verdict brought uncertainty to the market. Many industry experts made ‘doom and gloom’ predictions about the impact on house prices and to begin with, they were proved right. One estate agent claimed they were “trying to do deals 10 percent below where they were a week ago and Central London is already down 10 to 15 percent from its peak.”

However, the country recovered quickly and this trend was reflected in Hendon. Although the average price of a house had sunk slightly in 2017 (to £815,783), it picked up again the year after. As for Hendon’s apartments? They experienced a rise in price instead – increasing to £471,008 on average. This is especially impressive given how cautious buyers were at this point.

Volumes of sales fell somewhat in 2017 – with just 253 houses being sold that year (compared to 263 the year before) and 574 apartment sales (down from 842 in 2016). By 2018, house sales were still rather low but sales of flats had risen again, with 735 apartments being purchased in that year.

The aftermath of Brexit

As a whole, London was hit fairly hard by Brexit; certainly far harder than other places in the country. However, North London remained desirable which was probably due to homebuyers noticing its competitive prices when compared to Central London locations. Certainly, Hendon’s property market was defying expert predictions. For example, ex-chancellor George Osborne had previously stated that house prices would fall everywhere but Hendon proved the statement wrong. By 2019, the local property market was still performing strongly. Average house prices were £813,731, and average flat values were a record-breaking £467,298. In short, the area was getting a reputation as one of the region’s best places to live in and people were willing to pay more to purchase a property here.

The number of flat sales also picked up during this year with 784 apartments being sold in 2019 and 246 houses. This reflected how the market was increasingly being dominated by young professionals, first-time buyers and landlords.

The future was looking positive, with local estate agents expressing optimism about the coming years. Unfortunately, yet another major event was on the horizon and this time, it would bring the market to a virtual stand-still.

COVID-19 and its impact on Hendon’s house prices

Arguably, the coronavirus pandemic has been one of the most disruptive events in the last few decades. It was certainly one of the most unexpected and no-one predicted that the country would be put into total lockdown for such an extended period.

The effect on the UK’s property market was immediate and dramatic. Estate agents weren’t permitted to conduct house viewings, which meant that hardly any sales were being made. Unsurprisingly, this also affected property prices, with both house and apartment values dropping slightly at this point.

The impact of COVID-19 didn’t end there. Many people were either made redundant or placed on furlough, which affected their earnings. Understandably, in this unstable financial climate, fewer people were willing to commit to a mortgage and lenders were also more wary about offering loans without a substantial deposit.

The situation started to turn around in July 2020, thanks to the introduction of a stamp duty holiday. This meant that homebuyers wouldn’t have to pay stamp duty on any property purchases priced below £500,000.

This triggered a surge of interest in Hendon’s housing market, which was aided by the fact that viewings could once again take place. However, the benefits of the stamp duty break were limited by the fact that many of the area’s properties were priced above the threshold.

The stamp duty holiday was due to end on March 31st 2021, until chancellor Rishi Sunak announced its extension until the end of June. At the time of writing, it’s anticipated that buyer interest will remain high in most parts of the country, then fall once the tax incentive comes to an end.

What do Hendon property prices look like post COVID-19?

Much like the rest of Barnet, Hendon’s property market remained relatively stable throughout 2021, overcoming the lockdowns and restrictions that caused so much uncertainty during the height of the pandemic.

Average prices in 2021 stood at around £633,000, which was 2 percent down on the previous year. However, this was still 8 percent up on the peak of £583,000 in 2017. Hendon remains appealing to professionals and working families who are looking for high quality housing at good prices, often proving to be more affordable than districts located closer to the centre of London.

While 2021 wasn’t a boom year for the Hendon property market, it was still much better than expected with many sellers enjoying a sizeable profit on their original investment. Enquiry levels started to increase towards the end of the year, which signalled strong start for 2022.

Hendon’s property market in the next five years

The early signs are good for the housing market in 2022, with prices on the rise in Barnet, increasing 5 percent month-on-month and 6.2 percent year-on-year. It’s a strong indication that the market is very active at the moment and that there are a lot of good opportunities to be found.

While there is still ongoing uncertainty being caused by the cost-of-living crisis, there are a number of reasons to remain optimistic about the direction of the housing sector over the coming years. The area is renowned for its strong transport links and high calibre schools; two important factors that buyers will always have at the top of their list, regardless of the economic landscape.

Hendon’s property market managed to overcome the issues posed by the pandemic which shows how resilient it can be, a pattern that was established some years ago. While it’s difficult to say where the market will be with complete certainty in 5 years’ time, Hendon’s recent history provides some assurances that things will continue to trend in the right direction.

Are you ready to purchase a home in Hendon?

If you’d like to buy a property in Hendon, get in contact with Squires Estates today. Our team are on hand to provide information about the area and its properties and we have a wealth of houses and apartments on our books to suit every budget.

To see our list of properties currently available to buy in Hendon, start your search here.