Easter has come and gone. And a lovely few days it was too, with Bank Holidays on both the Friday and Monday to make a long weekend.
But for many of us here in Edgware and across North London, it wasn’t just Easter.
Passover began on the evening of Wednesday, 1st April, running right through the bank holiday weekend and beyond – in fact, finishing today, April 9th. For our community, just as Easter is for the majority, this is a special time for family, for reflection, and for remembrance. It is a time to slow down and be present.
Here in Edgware and across many neighbourhoods in North London, we can feel it, especially coming just a fortnight after Eid was celebrated by so many people locally too. The streets have been that little bit quieter, the pace slower and more mindful, and there has been a sense of the community taking a collective breath.
We felt that too, here at Petermans.
We Were Closed This Weekend – But That Doesn’t Mean ‘Shut Off’
Petermans has been part of this community for over sixty years. The original property business was started by my father, Sidney, and his brother, Warner, in 1962. What began life as a small local property firm has evolved over the decades into the agency it is today, particularly after my late brother, Neil, and I stepped into the family firm in 1994 and opened our Edgware office in 1998.
Warner’s daughter, my cousin, Wendy, heads up our Herne Hill branch.
My parents moved to Edgware in 1958, and it means a great deal to me that the business my father started is still here today – evolved, perhaps, but still family-run, still independent, and importantly, still rooted in the same values they believed in when they first set out.
With that history comes a deep respect not only for the rhythms of this community but also for our staff and their families.
We closed the office this Easter weekend and gave our team the time they deserved with their loved ones.
That doesn’t mean the phones went dark or that our clients were left without support. I popped in myself on Good Friday to man the fort for part of the day. There is always admin that benefits from a quiet moment when nobody else is about. It was a good opportunity to make sure everything was in order for our clients, deal with those enquiries that had come in, and keep things ticking over without anyone feeling let down.
Of course, we are also a lettings and property management firm, too – and if a tenant springs a leak at their property, religious holidays don’t make that water any less wet. So, of course, we had property management on hand, as we always do, to handle any emergencies.
It’s important to me personally that people know there is always someone available. A move is one of the biggest decisions in a person’s life, and a landlord’s let-out property is a major asset they need to know is looked after. If something arises over a bank holiday, it shouldn’t have to wait until Tuesday. We made sure we had all this covered, systems geared up and processes in place, and people to handle any issues or any potential viewings that came in, in a way that still allowed us to close the doors for four days and have that much-needed time off to reset and recharge.
Passover, Easter, and the Spirit of the Season
There is something that Easter and Passover share – a sense of liberation, of renewal, of emerging from something difficult into something lighter. After the last few weeks, let alone the last few years, with all the uncertainty in the air both here and abroad, this felt particularly resonant this time around.
Edgware has one of the most significant Jewish communities in the country. Passover is not a footnote here – it is central to life in our area. We are proud to be an agency that understands and reflects that. For many of our clients and neighbours, the Seder table was where this weekend was spent, and rightly so.
For me, the weekend was about exactly that: family time, a chance to be still, and the kind of quiet recharging that you can only really do when you allow the normal pace of things to genuinely pause.
Looking Ahead: The Edgware Market This Spring
One thing that is worth noting about Easter is that it is often a catalyst moment for the housing market as it enters the spring period – and the sun coming out the way it has this weekend, which feels like the first time in months, has almost felt like a metaphor for this in many ways.
And the market is looking in good shape*.
With an average property value now at £502,876, we are one of the few areas in London to have seen price increases over the past 12 months – currently 3% up on the average value at this time last year. There have been 483 sales in the area in the past 12 months – a 10% drop from the year before. But that is in large part due to the fact that a glut of properties in 2025 went through prior to March 31, in order to beat the Stamp Duty Holiday, so although transaction numbers over the year were fairly similar to 2023 and 2024 (a little higher, overall), the data was frontloaded.
So it doesn’t mean we are underperforming as a property market this year in reality – but unless you know the stories behind the property market, statistics alone can make it feel that way.
What we do know, as we head into the busier April-July period, is that there are 947 homes currently on the market for sale, which is in fact 27.5% higher than this time last year.
The market is feeling busier, and buyers are beginning to register in numbers as the spring market arrives. If you are thinking of selling your property in Edgware, these are the figures you need to know – and which we can tell you.
If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to make your move – whether buying, selling, or letting out a property – this general period of resetting might also be a very appropriate time to have a conversation.
Ready When You Are
We hope you had a peaceful and meaningful Easter weekend, or Passover, or, indeed, a fantastic time with your families if you celebrated Eid recently. Whatever these past few days or weeks have looked like for you and your family, whether you were at the Seder table, at church, breaking your fast with friends and family, or simply making the most of a long weekend, we hope it gave you the rest and the perspective that this time of year invites.
If spring has you thinking about your next move, we’d love to hear from you. We’ve been part of this community for sixty years, and no one knows this area better.
Give us a call, send a message by email, or pop into the shop if you like! Or simply fill out this form on our website (click link here) to get in touch.
Chag Sameach, and Happy Easter.
*data from Dataloft, Land Registry and Office for National Statistics