London house prices: the 25 boroughs where prices are falling

House prices in London are slipping, with almost 80% of the capital's boroughs recording falls so far this year.

The latest data from the Land Registry's House Price Index shows some areas have seen prices drop by more than 5%.

Boroughs where prices average between £400,000 and £500,000 have seen the sharpest decreases, while homes in more expensive areas have continued to rise in price.

Here, we reveal where house prices are cooling and which of the capitals boroughs are most affordable for home buyers.

What's happening to house prices in London?

In the first half of 2023, the average house price in London dropped by 1.1% -  from £534,000 in January to £528,000 in June.

That's a slightly bigger decrease than the 0.8% fall recorded for the UK as a whole.

Of London's 32 boroughs, 25 saw prices fall.

These figures are based on data from the Land Registry's UK House Price Index, which is based on property sales. 

The Index works on a two-month lag, so the most recent figures are for June. 

Find out more: 

The prices in every London borough

House prices in London vary significantly, so to see exactly what's behind these price drops we need to look at the figures more closely.

Below, we've broken down average prices in each borough, comparing the difference between the start of the year and June.

Inner London 

There's a split down the middle in inner London, with half of the boroughs recording price increases and the other half recording price decreases.

The most expensive areas in the country - Westminster (+10%) and Kensington and Chelsea (+5.2%) - saw the biggest price rises in the opening six months of the year. 

Greenwich (-4.9%) and Wandsworth (-3.5%) suffered the steepest drops.

Outer London

While inner London is split, the city's outer boroughs paint a solid picture of price decreases.

Only two areas - Merton (+2.6%) and Richmond upon Thames (+1%) - saw increases between January and June, with the rest recording price drops.

Croydon (-5.4%) and Redbridge (-5.3%) were the biggest fallers across the whole city.

Where are the cheapest London boroughs?

Barking and Dagenham is the most affordable borough in the capital, with the average house price coming in at £347,000.

That's still £60,000 higher than the UK average and more than double the price of an average home in the North East of England.

Bexley (£396,000) is the second cheapest borough, followed by Croydon (£411,000) - where prices have fallen at the sharpest rate in 2023.

You can compare prices across London boroughs in our map below.

How long does it take to sell a property?

Halifax says Londoners now spend half their earnings on mortgage repayments as a result of high interest rates. The average two-year fix is now 6.7% and a five-year fix is 6.2%.

As of July, Rightmove says London sellers are taking an average of 61 days to secure a buyer. 

While that marks an improvement on the start of the year, when the figure stood at 74 days, it is two weeks longer than a year ago.

The most recent Land Registry data shows Wandsworth as the borough with the most monthly transactions (182), followed by Bromley (174) and Havering (134).

Find out more: 

Buying a house in London

If you're buying in the cheapest borough, Barking and Dagenham, a 5% deposit for the average home would cost around £17,000. To open up the best mortgage rates, a 40% deposit would come in at almost £140,000.

Each borough sets its own council tax rates, meaning you'll need to pay significantly more in some areas than others. 

Find out more: 

source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/london-house-prices-the-25-boroughs-where-prices-are-falling-akjYe8k1M7Pi
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