House prices in London fell for a fifth consecutive month in August

By Alexander Joe

Property prices in London dropped for a fifth consecutive month in August and all regions in England and Wales experienced a decline in their annual rates of house price inflation.

House prices in the UK capital fell by 0.6 percent in August, with the average value of a home falling to £580,930 – a decrease of £3,450 compared to the previous month. The decline in August followed a 1 percent fall in July, according to data compiled by LSL Property Services and Acadata.

The LSL/Acadata house price index report explained that the fall in prices is a consequence of steep declines higher priced boroughs in the central London areas. Lower-priced more affordable London boroughs continued to see prices rise.

London
The number of transactions in London has seen was 32% lower over the three months June – August 2016, compared to the same three months in 2015.

The five highest-priced boroughs in London saw prices fall between August 2015 and August 2016 by an average of £123,400, or -9.6%, while the remaining 28 boroughs saw an average increase in prices of +£28,125, or 5.8%.

The change in house prices for all London boroughs

Prior year rank: Rank by price: London Borough: Aug-15 Jul-16 Aug-16 Month % Change Annual % Change
1 1 KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA 1,781,512 1,662,924 1,659,888 -0.2% -6.8%
2 2 CITY OF WESTMINSTER 1,416,680 1,299,964 1,291,788 -0.6% -8.8%
3 3 CAMDEN 1,105,648 911,513 923,726 1.3% -16.5%
4 4 CITY OF LONDON 940,323 855,400 903,797 5.7% -3.9%
5 5 HAMMERSMITH AND FULHAM 907,454 850,808 830,913 -2.3% -8.4%
6 6 RICHMOND UPON THAMES 761,257 802,625 792,569 -1.3% 4.1%
8 7 ISLINGTON 707,391 743,607 745,344 0.2% 5.4%
7 8 WANDSWORTH 718,807 733,983 710,658 -3.2% -1.1%
9 9 MERTON 586,007 614,014 610,214 -0.6% 4.1%
13 10 LAMBETH 559,873 589,973 588,109 -0.3% 5.0%
12 11 BARNET 563,574 595,914 586,988 -1.5% 4.2%
10 12 SOUTHWARK 568,895 599,970 572,247 -4.6% 0.6%
14 13 HARINGEY 558,878 565,954 564,726 -0.2% 1.0%
11 14 HACKNEY 566,960 561,152 561,879 0.1% -0.9%
16 15 BRENT 525,203 542,875 548,693 1.1% 4.5%
15 16 EALING 540,218 549,086 548,627 -0.1% 1.6%
17 17 KINGSTON UPON THAMES 504,948 553,625 540,112 -2.4% 7.0%
20 18 HARROW 475,851 504,725 508,724 0.8% 6.9%
18 19 TOWER HAMLETS 495,844 519,951 496,509 -4.5% 0.1%
21 20 BROMLEY 452,469 488,087 489,654 0.3% 8.2%
19 21 HOUNSLOW 489,017 464,019 471,028 1.5% -3.7%
24 22 LEWISHAM 398,932 462,984 455,080 -1.7% 14.1%
26 23 REDBRIDGE 391,000 445,976 452,085 1.4% 15.6%
22 24 HILLINGDON 401,299 442,670 448,510 1.3% 11.8%
25 25 ENFIELD 397,481 438,649 448,397 2.2% 12.8%
27 26 WALTHAM FOREST 388,448 446,729 446,433 -0.1% 14.9%
23 27 GREENWICH 399,451 421,279 417,459 -0.9% 4.5%
28 28 SUTTON 365,764 402,582 404,656 0.5% 10.6%
29 29 CROYDON 347,466 385,860 392,874 1.8% 13.1%
30 30 HAVERING 325,944 373,528 373,018 -0.1% 14.4%
31 31 NEWHAM 320,400 351,939 355,313 1.0% 10.9%
32 32 BEXLEY 302,245 345,402 347,673 0.7% 15.0%
33 33 BARKING AND DAGENHAM 250,603 290,350 291,801 0.5% 16.4%
ALL LONDON 568,657 584,384 580,930 -0.6% 2.2%

Adrian Gill, director of Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agents, commented on the data:

“We’re seeing a two speed market become firmly established as cheaper parts of the capital and the regions record big price increases driven by demand for affordable homes, while prime London property stalls. At the same time transaction levels are showing how much the market has changed, with the number of properties now held by private landlords changing market dynamics.

This all creates big challenges for government housing policies, which are going to have to be flexible enough to allow regions to make use of the solutions that work best for their different needs.”