House prices fell in all but six of London’s 33 local authority areas last year, as property in London was hit harder than the rest of the UK by rising interest rates, new analysis reveals today. It became clear.
The average house price in London fell by 5.2% in 2023, from £535,711 to £508,037, according to the latest land registration statistics, £27,674 less than the typical house price in the capital.
This compares to just 1% across the UK. But even within those overall numbers, the performance of individual boroughs varied widely, according to data compiled today by Agents Benham and Reeves. Prices fell in 26 boroughs and the City of London, with the most expensive areas seeing the biggest declines.
The single biggest fall was in Westminster, where the average house price plummeted by almost 21% to £877,733.
The one-year reduction in value of £232,015 is close to the average price of a house in many parts of the UK.
In Kensington and Chelsea, average prices fell by 17.4%, or £236,346, while in the City of London, prices fell by an average of 16.6%, or the equivalent of £160,221. House prices in Hammersmith and Fulham fell by 13.2% (£101,522).
However, throughout the year the six boroughs were marked by severe pressures on homeowners, with homeowners being forced to refinance at much higher rates when fixed rate contracts expire, with prices bucking against the overall trend. rose slightly. Londoners have far larger mortgages than anywhere else in the UK, with the average first-time home loan in London being £335,000.
Richmond upon Thames recorded the biggest rise in property prices, with the average rising 2% to £15,093.
Camden followed with 1.6%, Newham with 1.1%, Islington (0.8%) and Hackney and Lewisham (both with 0.7%). Mark von Glander, director at Benham & Reeves, said: Unsurprisingly, given the much higher cost of owning a home last year, the London market was hit the hardest, with all but a few boroughs experiencing declines.
All in all, this decline is small in the grand scheme of things, with most boroughs seeing only a small correction…but while there are silver linings, the damage it has done to the prime market as a whole in particular is much more pronounced . Of course, there’s never been a better time to buy into London’s luxury housing market. ”
The figures come after mortgage rates plunged at the end of 2023 on hopes that the Bank of England would soon start cutting borrowing costs, with the latest data from property portal Rightmove showing that prices have rebounded in the first few weeks of this year. The announcement was made to indicate that it has begun.
According to Rightmove, asking prices rose 2.8% in London in February.