Westminster house prices increased slightly in September

House prices increased slightly, by 0.3%, in Westminster in September, new figures show.

But the rise does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 2.2% annual decline.

The average Westminster house price in September was £967,277, Land Registry figures show – a 0.3% increase on August.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across London, where prices decreased 0.3%, and Westminster was above the 0.5% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Westminster fell by £21,000 – putting the area 24th 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 6.4%, to £509,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Kensington and Chelsea lost 20.6% of their value, giving an average price of £1,203,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Westminster spent an average of £875,000 on their property – £18,000 less than a year ago, and £56,000 less than in September 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £1,056,000 on average in September – 20.7% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of flats saw the biggest rise in property prices in Westminster in September – they increased 0.5%, to £899,972 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 2%.

Among other types of property:

• Detached: down 1.7% monthly; down 4.8% annually; £3,004,307 average
• Semi-detached: down 1.2% monthly; down 3.8% annually; £2,573,805 average
• Terraced: down 0.5% monthly; down 3% annually; £1,718,301 average

How do property prices in Westminster compare?

Buyers paid 80% more than the average price in London (£537,000) in September for a property in Westminster. Across London, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £291,000.

The most expensive properties in London were in Kensington and Chelsea – £1.2 million on average, and 1.2 times the price as in Westminster. Kensington and Chelsea properties cost 3.5 times the price as homes in Barking and Dagenham (£346,000 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 September

• Westminster: £967,277
• London:£537,424
• UK: £291,385

Annual change to September

• Westminster: -2.2%
• London: -1.1%
• UK: -0.1%

Highest and lowest annual growth in London

• Tower Hamlets: +6.4%
• Kensington and Chelsea: -20.6%