A new report by London Central Prime (LCP) has revealed that property prices in Prime Central London (PCL) are in freefall, slumping by 6% in December 2018 and crashing by 10.2% in Q4 last year.

Average annual prices in December (excluding new build) in PCL amounted to £1,844,031. Total transactions last year fell by 16.4% compared to 2017 and were down by more than 46% compared to 2014. However, the new build market in PCL has ground to a complete halt now that China has put restrictions on taking money out of the country and quarterly new build transactions crashed by 75.1% in Q4, compared to a year earlier, to just 57 sales.

Naomi Heaton, CEO at LCP, said of the market in Prime Central London: “Whilst prices have increased marginally over the year, this is not a cause for optimism. It is attributable to greater activity at the higher priced end of the market where the most significant discounts are available. This skews average prices upwards but even this “high-end” effect is tapering off as activity stalls.”