Kensington and Chelsea house prices crashed 6.9% in December

House prices crashed by 6.9% in Kensington and Chelsea in December, new figures show.

The large drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 13.7% annual decline.

The average Kensington and Chelsea house price in December was £1,125,353, Land Registry figures show – a 6.9% decrease on November.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across London, where prices remained static, and Kensington and Chelsea was lower than the 0.1% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Kensington and Chelsea fell by £179,000 – putting the area 31st among London’s 33 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Richmond, where property prices increased on average by 3%, to £758,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in City of London lost 17.8% of their value, giving an average price of £802,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Kensington and Chelsea spent an average of £972,000 on their property – £146,000 less than a year ago, and £201,000 less than in December 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £1,293,000 on average in December – 33% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Kensington and Chelsea in December – they dropped 10.5% in price, to £3,062,341 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 19.1%.

Among other types of property:

How do property prices in Kensington and Chelsea compare?

Buyers paid more for properties in Kensington and Chelsea than anywhere else in the UK in December. The average price paid would buy 10.5 homes in Burnley (£107,000), at the other end of the scale.

Across London, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £285,000.

Factfile

Average property price in December

• Kensington and Chelsea: £1,125,353
• London:£508,037
• UK: £284,691

Annual change to December

• Kensington and Chelsea: -13.7%
• London: -4.8%
• UK: -1.4%

Highest and lowest annual growth in London

• Richmond: +3%
• City of London: -17.8%