Tower Hamlets house prices increased in December

House prices increased by 3.2% in Tower Hamlets 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 6.5% annual decline.

The average Tower Hamlets house price in December was £453,376, Land Registry figures show – a 3.2% increase on November.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across London, where prices remained static, and Tower Hamlets was above the 0.1% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Tower Hamlets fell by £31,000 – putting the area 26th 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 Tower Hamlets spent an average of £440,000 on their property – £31,000 less than a year ago, but £14,000 more than in December 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £467,000 on average in December – 6% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of flats saw the biggest rise in property prices in Tower Hamlets in December – they increased 3.4%, to £440,693 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 6%.

Among other types of property:

• Detached: up 1.4% monthly; down 9.5% annually; £808,724 average
• Semi-detached: up 1.5% monthly; down 11% annually; £700,727 average
• Terraced: up 0.8% monthly; down 11.9% annually; £631,060 average

How do property prices in Tower Hamlets compare?

Buyers paid 10.8% less than the average price in London (£508,000) in December for a property in Tower Hamlets. Across London, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £285,000.

The most expensive properties in London were in Kensington and Chelsea – £1.1 million on average, and 2.5 times the price as in Tower Hamlets. Kensington and Chelsea properties cost 3.3 times the price as homes in Barking and Dagenham (£340,000 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

• Tower Hamlets: £453,376
• London:£508,037
• UK: £284,691

Annual change to December

• Tower Hamlets: -6.5%
• London: -4.8%
• UK: -1.4%

Highest and lowest annual growth in London

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