70a, St Albans Road, Hemel Hempstead, HP2 4BA

70a is a one-bedroom semi-detached house in Hemel Hempstead (HP2 4BA). It has a recorded floor area of 40 m² (around 431 sq ft), construction records dating it to 1930-1949 and council tax band B. At 40 m² this is the 2nd smallest of 27 units on EPC record in the building, where floor areas span 34–93 m². The building's EPC ratings span E to B, with this unit at the bottom. The latest certificate (December 2019) shows an E (score 54), well below the UK norm with real room to improve. The recommended improvements would push it to D (score 62).

Held since July 2009 — that's 17 years off the open market, well above the local norm. That sale fell during the post-crash dip, which often skews comparisons against later neighbouring sales. At 40 m² it sits well below the postcode median (75 m² across 26 EPCs), making it one of the more compact homes locally. On energy efficiency it sits in the bottom 10% of properties in this postcode — significant headroom for improvement. Across 1997–2009, sale prices on this property compounded at 9.6% per year. Today's modelled estimate of £187,000 sits 55.8% above the 2009 sale of £120,000.