The fall in central London house prices is accelerating as crippling stamp duty rates and Brexit fears bring the market to a near-standstill, official figures show.

Values were down year on year in five boroughs and the City of London in October, compared with just three local authority areas in September and only one in August, according to latest data from the Land Registry. 

The biggest fall was in the City, where prices are now 8.8 per cent lower than last year, followed by Kensington and Chelsea, which has seen a 4.9 per cent annual drop.

Other boroughs with falling values are Westminster, Camden, Hammersmith and Fulham and Richmond. Areas where prices look likely to turn negative in coming months include Islington, where they are up just 0.3 per cent year on year, and Wandsworth, where they are 2.8 per cent above 2015 levels. Today’s figures also show that the dramatic slump in sales that started in the referendum month of June continued right through the summer. In August just 6,607 deals were completed, almost 40 per cent fewer than the 10,881 in the previous year.

Howard Archer, UK economist at fore-casters IHS Global Insight, said: “The fundamentals for housebuyers look certain to deteriorate over the coming months, with consumers’ purchasing power weakening markedly and the labour market likely softening.” (Standard)