The St Albans property market is one of the hottest in Hertfordshire - though a handful of areas are faring even better.

PropCast compared the percentage of Herts homes that were ‘under offer’ or ‘sold subject to contract’ in both July 2020 and January 2021 in different postcodes to see the effect of the pandemic on buyer demand.

Stevenage’s SG2 recorded the highest ‘heat temperature’ in January at 75°, meaning 75 per cent of homes for sale were under offer or sold subject to contract, with growth of 47 per cent since last July.

Welwyn Garden City’s AL8 was the next hottest market, with a heat temperature of 71° and growth of 31 per cent, followed by Letchworth Garden City’s SG6 (71°/27 per cent), Hertford’s SG14 (70°/46 per cent), Goffs Oak’s EN7 (68°/48 per cent) and Luton’s LU2 (67°/46 per cent). The St Albans AL4 postcode was next up (66°/65 per cent), tied with Hatfield's AL10 (66°/47 per cent) and closely followed by Harpenden's AL5 (65°/27 per cent).

Gavin Brazg, founder of PropCast, said: “Over the last few months, we can see buyer demand has grown to record high levels across Hertfordshire, and we don’t expect these elevated levels of buyer demand to peter out anytime soon.

“If the first lockdown has anything to teach us it’s that buyer demand does not diminish in a lockdown, it just gets deferred (and concentrated) causing a further spike when restrictions are lifted.”

St Albans’ AL1 postcode recorded a heat temperature of 54° in January following growth of 29 per cent.

Antony Crovella, sales & marketing director at the Gabriel Square development, said: “I am not surprised to see the St Albans area of AL1 being in high demand. St Albans has a relaxed, rural character and vibrant community spirit, with a wide range of lifestyle-enhancing activities and hotspots.

“From enquiries received so far at Gabriel Square, it is very clear to see that lifestyle options like these are now just as important as bricks and mortar.”