Westminster house prices increased in October

House prices increased by 2.8% in Westminster in October, new figures show.

But the rise does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 5.7% annual decline.

The average Westminster house price in October was £967,166, Land Registry figures show – a 2.8% increase on September.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across London, where prices decreased 0.9%, and Westminster was above the 0.3% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Westminster fell by £59,000 – putting the area 32nd among London’s 33 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Tower Hamlets, where property prices increased on average by 12.5%, to £484,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Kensington and Chelsea lost 7.1% of their value, giving an average price of £1,356,000.

Average UK house prices increased by 12.6% in the year to October, accelerating from 9.9% in September.

The increase in the annual percentage change was partly caused by a sharp fall in average house prices in October 2021, following changes to stamp duty.

The average UK house price was £296,400 in October, which was £33,000 higher than a year earlier.

Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said: “Despite today’s figures, double-digit UK house price growth is now a thing of the past.

“Even as the reverberations of the mini-budget fade, a more adverse lending landscape is emerging after 13 years of ultra-low rates."

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Westminster spent an average of £876,000 on their property – £53,000 less than a year ago, and £66,000 less than in October 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £1,053,000 on average in October – 20.3% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of flats saw the biggest rise in property prices in Westminster in October – they increased 2.9%, to £899,577 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 5.9%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 1.8% monthly; down 7% annually; £3,033,298 averageSemi-detached: up 1.8% monthly; down 6.3% annually; £2,564,448 averageTerraced: up 2.6% monthly; down 4.3% annually; £1,719,709 average

How do property prices in Westminster compare?

Buyers paid 78.5% more than the average price in London (£542,000) in October for a property in Westminster. Across London, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £296,000.

The most expensive properties in London were in Kensington and Chelsea – £1.4 million on average, and 1.4 times as much as more than in Westminster. Kensington and Chelsea properties cost 3.8 times as much as homes in Barking and Dagenham (£356,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea.

Factfile

Average property price in October

Westminster: £967,166London:£541,720UK: £296,422

Annual change to October

Westminster: -5.7%London: +6.7%UK: +12.6%

Highest and lowest annual growth in London

Tower Hamlets: +12.5%Kensington and Chelsea: -7.1%