The new house price index came out today from the Land Registry. It’s probably the most reliable index as it covers most transactions. One thing it shows is the divide between central London prices, and outer London. I’ve noticed than whenever major news outlets report on house price figures they invariably report that London is holding up and rising, while the rest of the nation falls. They never look delve further into the figures and the divide between central London and much of outer London. Having looked at the figures it’s the very wealthy central London areas that are skewing the numbers. For example, last month Greenwich declined 2.3% which was the most in London, against a rise in Westminster of 0.9%. However monthly figures can be erratic, especially given the low sales currently, so it’s best to look at annual figures which show drops outside the wealthy inner core -
Greenwich -2.1%
Bexley -0.9%
Barking & Dagenham -2.2%
Newham -2.5%
Then there’s the wealthy central London boroughs showing big rises -
Westminster +8.9%
Kensington and Chelsea +7.2%
Hammersmith & Fulham +5%
Islington +5.4%
Despite constant proclamations that London is bucking the trend it seems there is a divergence within. The wealthy areas are doing fine, with banking still receiving healthy bonuses, and foreign buyers allowed tax breaks and enjoying a devalued pound. The figures don’t seem too convincing though that other areas of London are doing too well compared to the rest of the country.
