Kensington and Chelsea house prices dropped in July

House prices dropped by 2.6% in Kensington and Chelsea in July, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 1.3% annual growth.

The average Kensington and Chelsea house price in July was £1,350,969, Land Registry figures show –a 2.6% decrease on June.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across London, where prices increased 1.1%, and Kensington and Chelsea underperformed compared to the 2% rise for the UK as a whole.

Across the UK, the the average UK house price leapt by 15.5% in the year to July, marking the biggest increase in 19 years.

But the increase in annual inflation was mainly because of “a base effect” from the falls in prices seen this time last year, as a result of changes in the stamp duty holiday, the ONS said.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Kensington and Chelsea rose by £18,000 – putting the area 31st among London’s 33 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Harrow, where property prices increased on average by 14%, to £547,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in City of London lost 11.5% of their value, giving an average price of £808,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of detached houses fared worst in Kensington and Chelsea in July – they dropped 2.8% in price, to £3,914,213 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 3.1%.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: down 2.3% monthly; up 6% annually; £4,091,804 averageTerraced: down 2.7% monthly; up 4.9% annually; £2,702,809 averageFlats: down 2.6% monthly; up 0.1% annually; £1,143,267 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Kensington and Chelsea spent an average of £1,156,200 on their property – £6,600 more than a year ago, and £14,200 more than in July 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £1,566,600 on average in July – 35.5% more than first-time buyers.

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 July. The average price paid would buy 11.3 homes in Burnley (£120,000), at the other end of the scale.

Across London, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £292,000.

Factfile

Average property price in July

Kensington and Chelsea: £1,350,969London:£543,517UK: £292,118

Annual growth to July

Kensington and Chelsea: +1.3%London: +9.2%UK: +15.5%

Best and worst annual growth in London

Harrow: +14%City of London: -11.5%