Housing Needs Assessment 2006 - Westminster City Council

Appendix A6 Comparisons between Westminster, Haringey and BarnetA6.6 Threshold costs for market housingIn both surveys housing need was measured against the size of dwelling required. This meant houseprices by dwelling size had to be collected. In all three boroughs surveys interviews with estateagents were undertaken in an attempt to determine the minimum cost required to access privatesector housing by bedroom size.i) Purchase pricesThe table below shows the minimum property prices in the three areas. The data indicates that forall dwelling sizes, it is much more expensive to buy a home in Westminster, and cheapest inHaringey.Table A6.5 Minimum property pricesSize of property Westminster Haringey Barnet1 bedroom £198,000 £130,000 £154,5002 bedroom £275,000 £167,000 £184,0003 bedroom £370,500 £217,500 £263,5004 bedroom £482,500 £288,000 £330,500Source: Survey of Estate and Lettings Agents (2006)ii) Entry-level private rented costThe minimum monthly cost of private renting is presented in the table below. The data shows thatcosts in Westminster are again higher, and Haringey is the cheapest.Table A6.6 Minimum monthly private rentalSize of property Westminster Haringey Barnet1 bedroom £890 £620 £6902 bedroom £1,290 £785 £8703 bedroom £1,785 £950 £1,1454 bedroom £2,617 £1,165 £1,395Source: Survey of Estate and Lettings Agents (2006)Information garnered from estate agents indicates that the private housing market is more expensivein Westminster. It is worth noting that the relative difference in the costs between the three areas issmaller for private rents.PAGE 201