First off, let me say: I’m a London property owner. It’s a pretty little flat, in a pleasant corner of the capital. Nothing special, but quite desirable. Therefore, I am not writing this article in a gleeful spirit of provincial schadenfreude, rather, I write it with a grim sense of metropolitan foreboding. I had kind of hoped my flat would be my pension. Now I fear it may end up a nicely furnished prison.

The reasons why are obvious, and begin with our bewilderingly stupid government

Why? For the good reason that – unnoticed by many, who always presume London property prices go up – the London market has been stagnant for years, and often falling in real terms. Now prices are actively descending, sometimes quite severely. And, if my worst fears come true, this correction could turn into an unprecedented rout.

Here are the hard, sobering numbers. According to the latest data, London house prices fell by 2.4 per cent in 2025. Modest averages smooth over alarming details. In Kensington and Chelsea, the drop was 16.5 per cent. In the City of London, prices have plummeted by 18 per cent. Meanwhile Londoners are now more likely to take a loss on a sale than property owners anywhere else in the UK.

The reasons are obvious,........

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