Allow Exco Player content
This content is provided by Exco Player and may use cookies or similar technologies. Please click 'Allow and Continue' below to load the content.
House prices have plummeted by more than a fifth in central London in a year, according to new figures.
The Office for National Statistics data showed they plunged by 22.8% in Westminster in the 12 months to May.
This was by far the biggest fall in the capital, taking the average house price in Westminster to £836,000.
“It’s a very substantial correction after a very long run of higher house prices,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
“There is combination of factors ranging from the economic to the political.”
They included higher interest rates, leading to bigger mortgage payment bills, tax changes, and some people who may have moved abroad as they had possibly decided “their capital is not as welcome in the UK as it once was,” he added.
Property prices have been falling in LondonAFP/GettyThe falls in central London may also have been fuelled by the new “mansion tax” on homes worth £2 million and over due to come into force in 2028.
The capital’s property market could be further hit if Prime Minister Andy Burnham presses ahead with a new homes levy to replace council tax and stamp duty, which he has previously backed.
The reform, based on the value of properties, could land London with an extra £7.5 billion property tax bill.
The second biggest drop in house prices in the year to May was in Tower Hamlets, of 14.5%, followed by Hammersmith and Fulham at 10.9%, and Kensington and Chelsea at 10.7%.
The overall decline in house prices across London accelerated to 3.7% in the year to May, up from 2.3% in the 12 months to April.
Read More
Richard Donnell, executive director of research at Zoopla said: “Political change, the World Cup, a scorching summer and elevated mortgage rates have hit housing market activity this summer.
“Zoopla’s very latest data shows 20% fewer buyer inquiries than a year ago and 7% fewer sales agreed.”
Borough
Average house price May 2026
Percentage change in the year to May 2026
Barking and Dagenham
£361,000
Little change
Barnet
£591,000
-4.3
Bexley
£409,000
+2.2
Brent
£549,000
-3.3
Bromley
£525,000
Little change
Camden
£806,000
-6.2
Croydon
£397,000
Little change
Ealing
£569,000
-2.5
Enfield
£469,000
Little change
Greenwich
£463,000
Little change
Hackney
£608,000
Little change
Hammersmith & Fulham
£729,000
-10.9
Haringey
£634,000
+2.4
Harrow
£530,000
Little change
Havering
£453,000
+2.8
Hillingdon
£468,000
Little change
Hounslow
£501,000
-2.4
Islington
£670,000
-6.4
Kensington & Chelsea
£1,256,000
-10.7
Kingston
£582,000
Little change
Lambeth
£545,000
-2.9
Lewisham
£497,000
+2.3
Merton
£597,000
-1.3
Newham
£405,000
-1.4
Redbridge
£496,000
+2.4
Richmond
£789,000
-2.5
Southwark
£579,000
Little change
Sutton
£445,000
Little change
Tower Hamlets
£444,000
-14.5
Waltham Forest
£524,000
+3.1
Wandsworth
£660,000
-6.1
Westminster
£836,000
-22.8Source: ONS
House prices have now fallen in London for nine months in a row, according to the ONS.
The figure for the city are in stark contrast to house prices rising on average across the UK.
The size of the Westminster fall may be partly down to fewer transactions which can influence the scale of drops.
But the monthly figures from the ONS show increasingly bigger falls in central London.
They were down 18.8% in the year to April in Westminster, 12.3% in the 12 months to March, while the figure was 11.6% for February and 9.6% for January.
The average UK house price increased by 2.7% in the 12 months to May, slowing from a 3.9% annual increase in April, the ONS said.
Across the UK, the typical house price in May was £271,000.