London house prices rise by just £600 as worst borough revealed
The London borough where more houses fell in value than almost any other area in the UK in 2024 has been revealed.
According to new data released by Zoopla, the value of 72 per cent of houses in Kensington and Chelsea fell by at least one per cent last year.
A total of 73,200 homes were impacted by the fall, with the average house price dropping by £44,300.
The London borough has been named among the other areas of the UK where house prices fell the most in 2024.
According to Zoopla, 79 per cent of properties in Bungay in the East of England dropped in value, while 83 per cent fell in Ferndown in the South West and 89 per cent in Broadstairs in the South East.
In total, 9.2 million homes in the UK saw their value drop by at least one per cent in 2024.
However, 15 million properties increased in value by the same metric in the last 12 months.
The increase compares to 10.6 million in 2023 and 27.3 million in 2022.
Topping the list is Peterlee in the North East which saw 83 per cent of houses increase in value by an average of £6,100.
Other top performing areas include Blackburn in Lancashire, Carluke in Scotland and Wednesbury in the West Midlands.
Overall, London house prices increased by an average of just £600 in 2024, with just 40 per cent actually rising in value.
House prices in the South East dropped by £900 on average while the South West posted a £300 decline.
The worst performing area was the East of England where the average value fell by £1,300.
The top region in the UK was the North West where the average increase in house price was £4,400.
Zoopla said: “A clear North-South divide remains when it comes to the fortunes of homeowners in 2024 with fewer homes recording an increase in value in Southern England compared to the rest of Britain.
“This reflects the underlying affordability of homes and the impact of higher mortgage rates on buying power and house prices in areas with above-average home values.
“Just a third (36 per cent) of homes increased in value by one per cent or more across the regions in Southern England. Two-fifths (41 per cent) of homes fell in value by an average of £8,700.
“This is in sharp contrast to the northern regions of England and Scotland where 63 per cent of homes registered value gains over 2024.
“Coastal towns in Kent and East Sussex were least likely to register price gains in 2024, with many towns seeing less than ten per cent of homes increase in value and more than three-quarters of homes registering small price falls.
“This is due to the fading of the pandemic boom and the subsequent search for additional space as more workers return to the office.
“An additional factor is the increase in second homeowners selling in the face of a doubling in council tax from April, which is impacting pricing across many coastal towns.”
‘We expect more people to move home in 2025’
Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said: “The housing market returned to growth in 2024 but the pattern of home value changes across Britain is far from uniform.
“There is headroom for prices to increase in markets where housing is affordable compared to incomes which covers many parts of northern England and Scotland.
“In contrast, affordability is more of a constraint on price rises in Southern England where the market continues to adjust to higher borrowing costs. Faster income growth is helping to repair affordability supporting moving decisions in 2025.
“Every home has its own trajectory for price changes and millions of owners are tracking the value of their home on Zoopla as part of the decision of when to move home.
“The momentum from 2024 is spilling into 2025 with a seven-year high number of homes for sale.
“We expect more people to move home in 2025 than in 2024 despite uncertainty over the economic outlook and broadly static mortgage rates.“
‘Rising borrowing costs will suppress demand’
In response to the data Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said: “A slowdown in house price growth is in the post.
“As sub-four per cent mortgage offers dry up and stamp duty rates increase in April, rising borrowing costs will suppress demand more noticeably from the second quarter of this year.
“As demand spreads into more affordable parts of the country, prices in these locations will remain relatively more buoyant.”