Westminster house prices increased slightly in December

House prices increased slightly, by 0.1%, in Westminster in December, new figures show.

But the rise does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 13.4% annual decline – the worst in the UK.

The average Westminster house price in December was £910,287, Land Registry figures show – a 0.1% increase on November.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across London, where prices remained static, and Westminster was above the 0.4% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Westminster fell by £141,000 – putting the area bottom of the UK’s local authorities for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in City of London, where property prices increased on average by 20.8%, to £968,000.

The average UK house price was £294,000 in December 2022, which was £26,000 higher than 12 months earlier.

It meant prices increased by 9.8% annually in December, slowing from 10.6% annual growth in November, according to the Office for National Statistics.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Westminster spent an average of £825,000 on their property – £126,000 less than a year ago, and £174,000 less than in December 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £990,000 on average in December – 19.9% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of flats saw the biggest rise in property prices in Westminster in December – they increased 0.1%, to £846,025 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 13.7%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 0.9% monthly; down 15.2% annually; £2,824,475 averageSemi-detached: down 0.1% monthly; down 13.4% annually; £2,430,263 averageTerraced: down 0.2% monthly; down 11.6% annually; £1,626,959 average

How do property prices in Westminster compare?

Buyers paid 67.6% more than the average price in London (£543,000) in December for a property in Westminster. Across London, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £294,000.

The most expensive properties in London were in Kensington and Chelsea – £1.3 million on average, and 1.4 times as much as more than in Westminster. Kensington and Chelsea properties cost 3.5 times as much as homes in Barking and Dagenham (£362,000 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 December

Westminster: £910,287London:£543,099UK: £294,329

Annual change to December

Westminster: -13.4%London: +6.7%UK: +9.8%

Highest and lowest annual growth in London

City of London: +20.8%Westminster: -13.4%