London house prices down for first time in eight years

6th October 2017

London house prices have fallen for the first time in eight years, the Nationwide says, dropping 0.6% year-on-year in September – becoming the weakest performing region in the UK for the first time since 2005. Across the UK, annual price growth slowed to 2%, down from 2.1% in August and the slowest rate of increase since June 2013. Outside London, prices are still rising in every area. The region with the steepest rise over the past year was the East Midlands, where prices rose by 5.1%. The average annual price for a house across the UK is now £210,116. Despite the drop, KPMG Economics predicts that by 2021 the city will return to being the fastest growing market in the UK; the firm’s projections suggest property prices will start to pick up again around the time Britain leaves the EU, and London will be the driving force behind growth. Developments such as Crossrail and improvements to regions' infrastructure should have a positive impact on a number of areas, it predicts.

BBC News (29/09/2017)   The Daily Telegraph (05/10/2017)