House prices in the borough have – so far - escaped the falls seen across London and England.

New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Land Registry show the average sale for most property types in March were up compared to the month before.

This was in contrast to the figures for London and England as a whole, which reported month-on-month falls.

The relatively resilient market across the borough comes against the background of gathering clouds associated with increases in interest rates and fixed rate mortgages.

These figures show that the average sale price for properties in March was £758,649, which was up by around £1,000 on the month before.

These are set to dramatically push up monthly payments for borrowers buying a new property, which is expected to hit the number of sales and prices through the second half of this year.

Detached properties sold for an average of £1,697,015, which was up from £1,691,318 in February.

The latest data from the ONS covers sale prices in March. While these figures are less current than some other property market surveys, they are the most accurate as they reflect what people have paid.

These figures show that the average sale price for properties in March was £758,649, which was up by around £1,000 on the month before. By contrast, the average in London fell by around £9,000 to £523,325, while the figure for England was down by around £5,000 to £308,921.

Terraced properties sold for an average £868,839, which was down from £870,470 in February.

Looking at different property types, the figures show:

* Detached properties sold for an average of £1,697,015, which was up from £1,691,318 in February.

* Terraced properties sold for an average £868,839, which was down from £870,470 in February.

* Flats and maisonettes sold for an average of £495,108, which was up from £493,817 in February.

* Flats and maisonettes sold for an average of £495,108, which was up from £493,817 in February.

Local property expert, Stan Shaw, of Mervyn Smith & Co, who speaks on market issues for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, said wealthy buyers, including cash buyers from Hong Kong, are battling for homes priced at more than £1m in the borough.

He explained the relatively robust property market in the borough saying: "I think it's because in an uncertain housing market you get a flight to quality.

"When buyers are unsure about the direction of the market in general, they get some encouragement from buying in areas which have always done historically well over the long term rather than areas which have been temporarily fashionable or have seen buyers moving there more because they can't afford a more sought after area nearby.

"Richmond and Kingston are also affluent areas with people less constrained by rising interest rates.

"We marketed 17 Arlington Road, in Petersham. last weekend and had seven competing offers who were all quite capable of paying the asking price of £1.4m(for an unextended 4 bedroom semi) and the winning bid was over £1,500,000. Two bids were 100% cash.

"It's a combination of high-income earners and large amounts of equity accrued from previous properties. Plus there's the curveball locally of non-UK money coming into the area - particularly in our patch buyers with British National Overseas passports relocating here from Hong Kong.

"These accounted for two of our new sales arranged this week and one of our completions were Hong Kong buyers."