I mentioned recently that the property section was getting an update.

Those updates are now done.

Well, done enough. The data is correct, the logic works, and all that’s left is tidying up the bits that offend my sense of design (which is, apparently, most things).

So what’s actually changed?

1. Search by Postcode (Property-Level Search)

Previously, searching by postcode gave you everything:

• The property you wanted
• Sales for the entire postcode
• Average prices
• Locality, Town/City, District, County data
• And every property type rolled into one big bowl of statistical soup

Some people kindly pointed out that “everything” was actually “too much,” so I refined it.

If you search for a flat, you now get flat-specific data. If you search for a semi-detached property, you get semi-detached averages.

Simple. Obvious. It should have been that way from the start. Let’s pretend it was.

I’ve also added a map to the postcode results page. Many of you disliked the old “click the button, and suddenly you’re in a new tab” approach. Fair point.

Caveat:

The map requires calling an external service, which means the page now takes up to two seconds to load. Yes, two whole seconds.

I am already twitching.

But let’s see how you cope.

2. Search by Locality, Town/City, District, County (Area-Level Search)

Because the postcode search is now property-type-specific, the wider area stats needed their own home. That’s the new area search page. It works like this:

Start typing “Black…” and it narrows down to Blackpool, Blackheath, Blackburn, etc.

The area type is clearly labelled next to each name, so you know whether you’re looking at:

• Locality – tiny area, few sales
• Town/City – larger, more sales
• District – larger again
• County – biggest area, big numbers

Now… a word about Land Registry “quirks”

The Land Registry data is… what it is.

Sometimes helpful, sometimes very broken.

Case study: Blackpool

A couple of real addresses:

• 36 London Road, Blackpool, Blackpool, Blackpool, Blackpool, FY4 1DL
• 21 Squires Gate Lane, [NULL], Blackpool, Blackpool, Blackpool, FY4 1DL

Blackpool is apparently everything: locality, town, district, county.

Because why not?

To avoid having four different “Blackpool” entries depending on which field they duplicated, I now merge them:

• If locality = town, ignore locality
• If town = district, ignore town
• If district = county, ignore district

Result: one Blackpool, as nature intended.

It works. Even if my explanation doesn’t.

Case study: Hereford / Herefordshire / Hereford & Worcester

Hereford and Worcester doesn’t exist anymore; they closed it in the 90s, but the Land Registry doesn’t seem to care.

You’ll still see:

• Hereford
• Worcester
• Herefordshire
• Hereford and Worcester

Why?

Because the dataset goes back decades, no one has gone through 30+ million transactions to update addresses for historical accuracy. Nor will I.

Newer sales go under Herefordshire (correct).

Old 90s data still sits in “Hereford and Worcester.”

This is simply how the dataset is built.

Final Bits

Data is correct; that’s always the priority.

Over the next few days, I’ll tidy the layouts, polish the visuals, and make things less unpleasant to look at.

Mobile users

Many have asked about making charts readable on phones.

Some charts now scale better, but others simply cannot be made readable on a 6-inch screen unless you have the eyesight of an owl.

Some data just needs more pixels. Sorry.

Feedback

Keep it coming.

My skin thickens daily, much like my coffee :)