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.
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.”
