Overview

Asking prices for homes in London have suffered their greatest annual fall this decade and have dropped by more than £18,000 on average in just the last month, the largest fall since December last year, according to data published by Rightmove.The typical asking price for a property coming to market in London stood at £610,912, a fall of £18,358 from £629,270 in August, bringing the annual rate of house price growth in the Capital well into negative territory at -3.2%, the largest year on year fall so far this decade.This headline figures for London as a whole, however, mask much steeper falls in some of the Capital’s most expensive boroughs.According to the figures from Rightmove, the average asking price for a home in Kensington and Chelsea plummeted by more than £300,000 between August and September.Camden was also badly hit, with asking prices down by an average of 7%, or almost £75,000, compared to August.This is not the first time in recent months house prices have fallen in some of the most desirable parts of London, but the scale of the fall suggests that the slump in the high end central London property market may be gaining momentum.Rightmove said the survey was based on an updated methodology which measured more than 98,000 asking prices across the UK, around 90% of the housing market. The properties were all put up for sale between 13 August and 9 September.The Rightmove survey also suggests that the average asking price for a house across the country fell by 1.2%, or £310,000, over the past month, although the latest House Price Index from Nationwide pointed to a smaller fall of 0.1%, while Halifax’s monthly survey said house prices had actually risen slightly, by 1.1%.Rightmove did point out that the national figures in its survey were affected by the large fall in asking prices in London, with most areas recording a smaller fall, or, in the cases of North East England, Yorkshire and Humberside, and the East Midlands, small rises.Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst, said: “There were autumn price bounces nationally in 2014, 2015 and 2016, but the south of the country has turned this month into a bit of a damp squib, whilst some northern regions are still showing marginal signs of upwards price pressure. “Estate agents are clearly advising many sellers that they have to lower their price expectations to fit in with buyers’ stretched financial resources, with that price compromise hopefully generating extra buyer interest.”Falling house prices will raise concerns about negative equity for many homeowners who are still repaying their mortgage.

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