London’s house prices had the UK’s lowest rate of annual growth last month
Back in March, London was leading the UK's annual house price inflation, but the recent drop in prices and transactions in prime central property has led to annual change of just 0.1 per cent, meaning London's house prices had the lowest rate of annual growth in the country last month.
For England and Wales as a whole, average prices increased 3.1 per cent annually and 0.1 per cent in November, driven by strong gains in cheaper properties, figures released by Your Move England and Wales House Price Index today show.
In prime central London – defined by Your Move as the five highest-priced boroughs – four boroughs had price drops in the last month, and the average house price for the group dropped £112,950 over the year.
Westminster's prices dropped most significantly last month, down 3.5 per cent, while the boroughs that fell the most over the year were Hammersmith and Fulham (down 13.2 pre cent), Westminster (down 12.1 per cent) and Camden (down 10.4 per cent).
The losses in London's prime areas were just barely offset by strong growth in areas of low-cost properties.
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The five cheapest boroughs in London included the top three house price performers: Bexley (up 14.6 per cent), Barking and Dagenham (up 14.4 per cent) and Havering (up 13.4 per cent).
Greater London was surrounded by strong areas of growth: the east, which remained the best performing region with average prices up 6.6 per cent over the year, and the south east, which reported prices up 5.6 per cent annually.
Across England and Wales, the average house price was £295,276, up £380 since last month, and the number of sales improved slightly from last month with an estimated level of 77,500.
Read more: Slowing wage growth pulled on house prices in November
On the same period last year, average house prices were up £8,792, or 3.1 per cent, and they have remained broadly flat since the referendum in June.
"For all the talk of Brexit uncertainty, the main factor driving up prices in the housing market is still supply and demand. That imbalance remains even after the government announcements in the Autumn statement," Adrian Gill, director of Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agents said.