Property prices have fallen by nearly 20 per cent in central London, according to new figures.
House prices dropped 19.6 per cent in Westminster compared to a year earlier, to an average of £815,000 in April.
Across the capital, property prices fell for the ninth month in a row, by 2.1 per cent annually, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Meanwhile, rents rose in London by two per cent in the year to May to an average of £2,294, the smallest increase across the country, and similar to the increase in the previous month.
After Westminster, the second biggest fall in London’s property prices was Tower Hamlets at 12.6 per cent in a year to an average of £458,000, followed by Kensington and Chelsea with a decline of 8.4 per cent to £1,273,000.
In Hammersmith and Fulham, the fall was 7.6 per cent to £742,000, Islington 5.4 per cent to £665,000, Wandsworth 5.3 per cent to £671,000, Hounslow 4.7 per cent to £497,000 and Ealing down 4.2 per cent to £557,000.
Most other boroughs had smaller drops in property prices, with a few seeing annual rises.
They included Waltham Forest, up 3.4 per cent to £524,000, Redbridge with a rise of 2.7 per cent to £503,000 and Bexley an increase of 2.5 per cent to £408,000.
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at AJ Bell, said: “London prices haven’t fallen off a cliff, and it’s not a straight line – prices were actually up 1.9 per cent between March and April - but there has been a drift south.
“It’s partly that the market is a victim of its own success.
“Average house prices are so much higher than elsewhere in the UK that buyers are being priced out, and at a time when mortgage rates have risen from rock bottom, it’s increasingly difficult for people to get onto the property ladder or move up it.”
Overall across the capital, there was a fall of 2.1 per cent, to an average property price of £615,000, as central London in particular was less impacted by stamp duty changes last year than other parts of the country.
The ONS said: “The SDLT (stamp duty) changes had minimal impact on areas such as London where average prices are higher.
“Prices fell by 2.1 per cent in the 12 months to April 2026.
“This is the ninth consecutive month in which London has seen an annual fall in house prices.”
Across the UK, house price increased with a 3.8 per cent annual rise to April which took the typical property value to £270,000.
Richard Donnell, executive director of research at Zoopla said: “The jump in house price inflation in May is artificial and linked to the ending of last year’s stamp duty holiday.
“The sales market is weakening as we enter the summer with buyer demand down 14 per cent on this time last year, yet there are still more homes for sale.”
He added: “It’s a buyers’ market and the North-South divide in prices and market activity remains.
“People want to move but serious sellers need to price their home carefully.”
Latest inflation figures on Wednesday showed it was unchanged at 2.8 per cent in May, lower than expected by the City and fuelling speculation that the Bank of England will not raise interest rates in coming months.
