The average Westminster home fell 14.3% in a year to £887,206 in August, London's second-steepest fall. July has been revised up by £15,373.
The average home in the City of Westminster sold for £887,206 in August 2026. That is £148,015 less than a year earlier, a fall of 14.3%.
The figures come from the Land Registry’s UK House Price Index for August, published this week. Only the City of London fell further. London as a whole was down 2.2%, and England was up 0.4%.
The annual fall is much smaller than the 20.7% we reported for July. That is not because prices recovered in August. They slipped 0.6% on the month. The difference comes from last year: August 2025 was itself a weak month, so this year’s figure is being measured against a lower starting point.
The quick answer
- Average price, August 2026: £887,206, down 14.3% on August 2025.
- On the month: down 0.6%, the second small monthly fall in a row.
- In London: the second-steepest annual fall of 33 areas, behind the City of London (down 14.6%).
- Flats: £784,694, down 15.1%. Flats are most of what sells in Westminster.
- July revised: now £892,161 and down 19.4%, not £876,788 and down 20.7%.
Second only to the City of London
The index covers all 32 London boroughs plus the City of London. In August, 22 of those 33 areas were worth less than a year earlier, nine were worth more and two were flat.
| Area | Average price, August 2026 | Annual change |
|---|---|---|
| City of London | £726,633 | down 14.6% |
| City of Westminster | £887,206 | down 14.3% |
| Kensington and Chelsea | £1,204,072 | down 13.8% |
| Tower Hamlets | £447,950 | down 13.3% |
| Camden | £798,486 | down 10.6% |
| London | £554,430 | down 2.2% |
| England | £293,525 | up 0.4% |
All five steep falls are central, high-value markets dominated by flats. The biggest rises were on the edges of London: Kingston upon Thames up 4.9% and Barking and Dagenham up 4.7%.
Kensington and Chelsea, at £1,204,072, is still the only London area dearer than Westminster.
Two months of small falls
The monthly figures tell a gentler story than the annual one. Westminster’s average hit its low for the year in April, at £868,489. It rose 1.6% in May and 1.3% in June, then slipped 0.3% in July and 0.6% in August.
| Month | Average price | Change on the month |
|---|---|---|
| August 2025 | £1,035,221 | down 6.4% |
| September 2025 | £1,051,596 | up 1.6% |
| December 2025 | £950,271 | down 4.8% |
| March 2026 | £878,055 | down 4.5% |
| April 2026 | £868,489 | down 1.1% |
| May 2026 | £882,764 | up 1.6% |
| June 2026 | £894,417 | up 1.3% |
| July 2026 | £892,161 | down 0.3% |
| August 2026 | £887,206 | down 0.6% |
The May row shows how much these numbers move. Last month’s release put May at £861,415. This month’s puts it at £882,764.
July has been revised up
The Land Registry revises recent months as more sales are registered. Westminster’s latest revisions are large:
- July: first published at £876,788, now £892,161, a rise of £15,373.
- July’s annual fall: first 20.7%, now 19.4%.
- July on the month: first published as a rise of 1.1%, now a fall of 0.3%.
That changes one point in our July story, which said prices had risen for three months in a row. On the revised figures they rose for two, May and June. We have added a note to that story.
Revisions this size happen in Westminster because it sells few homes and many of them are very expensive. A handful of late-registered sales can move the average by thousands of pounds. Treat the August figure as provisional too.
Flats fell furthest
| Property type | Average price | Annual change |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £3,935,497 | down 6.8% |
| Semi-detached | £2,810,593 | down 4.1% |
| Terraced | £1,641,592 | down 9.6% |
| Flat or maisonette | £784,694 | down 15.1% |
Source: UK House Price Index, August 2026.
Flats matter most here because they are most of the market. Houses are rare in Westminster, so their averages rest on very few sales.
First-time buyers and cash buyers
The first-time buyer average was £791,770, down 14.6% on a year earlier.
Cash buyers paid more than buyers with a mortgage. The average cash purchase was £918,169, against £867,420 with a mortgage. Both were down about 14% on the year.
What it means for you
- If you are selling, the borough average is no guide to your home. It is a mean, so a few very expensive sales pull it up or down. Look at recent sales on your own street on our house prices page, which goes postcode by postcode.
- If you are buying a flat, prices are down about 15% on a year ago, but they have been broadly level since spring.
- If you are watching the trend, wait for revisions. The latest two months usually move when the next release comes out.
- Council tax does not change with prices. Bands still rest on 1991 values: see our council tax bands page.
About these figures
The UK House Price Index is published monthly by HM Land Registry with the Office for National Statistics. It is a mean average, not a median: the total value of sales divided by the number of them. It is also adjusted for the mix of property types sold. The September figures are due in November.
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