From James Lockett

Research by the leading mortgage broker for global high-net-worths, Enness Global Mortgages, has revealed how house prices have performed under the last three London Mayors, ahead of Thursday’s mayoral election.

Enness analysed house price growth from the start and end of each term running back over the last five terms and three individuals to have held the position. 

The figures show that with the exception of Boris Johnson’s first term as Mayor and one that started in the midst of a property market crash, Sadiq Khan has presided over the worst period of house price growth in the capital. 

Since he took office in May 2016, London house prices have climbed just 6.2%. While prices climbed by just 3% during Johnson’s first term between May 2008 and 2012, his second term did see them increase by a far steeper 54% until Khan took over in 2016. 

During Johnson’s total time in the role, London house prices increased by 58% between May 2008 and 2016. This rate of growth has been surpassed by one man though. During Ken Livingstone’s two terms as Mayor of London between May 2000 and 2004, house prices in the capital shot up by 110%.

Interestingly, the rate of growth under Livingstone as an independent Mayor of London sat at 61% during his first term. This then fell to just 30% during his second term when he held the position as a Labour Mayor of London.

Despite an overall lower rate of growth, house prices in some boroughs have climbed notably during Sadiq Khan’s time in office. In Barking and Dagenham the average house price has increased 21% since 2016, while Newham (19%) and Waltham Forest (18%) have also seen some of the largest increases.

This hasn’t been the case everywhere though. The City of London (-20%), Hammersmith and Fulham (-15%), Kensington and Chelsea (-5%) and Westminster (-1%) have all seen house prices decline. 

CEO of Enness Global Mortgages, Islay Robinson, commented: 

“It’s perhaps unfair to say that Said Khan has been the worst London Mayor in over two decades where property price growth is concerned and a comparison would mean allowing him a second term in the role. 

That said, there certainly seems to be some correlation between a Labour Mayor of London and a poor performing property market in the capital.

Of course, we can only go based on what the numbers tell us and in the case of Sadiq Khan, he certainly seems to have helped stimulate boroughs at the bottom end of the property price ladder, while London’s prime boroughs have actually seen values fall during his time in office.”

Table shows house price change across each term held by each London Mayor (Source: UK House Price Index)

Mayor	Political party	Term start	Average London house price	Term end	Average London house price	Change %	Total Change (%)
Ken Livingstone	Independent	4-May-00	£140,862	4-May-04	£227,330	61%	110%
Ken Livingstone	Labour	4-May-04	£227,330	4-May-08	£295,163	30%
Boris Johnson	Conservative	4-May-08	£295,163	9-May-12	£304,081	3%	58%
Boris Johnson	Conservative	9-May-12	£304,081	9-May-16	£467,485	54%
Sadiq Khan	Labour	9-May-16	£467,485	Present	£496,269	6%	6%

Table shows house price growth across each London borough during each term held by each London Mayor (Source: UK House Price Index)

Borough	Ken Livingstone	Ken Livingstone	Boris Johnson	Boris Johnson	Sadiq Khan
May 2000 to May 2004	May 2004 to May 2008	May 2008 to May 2012	May 2012 to May 2016	May 2016 to present
Barking and Dagenham	105.5%	25.4%	-14.0%	61.0%	21%
Newham	100.4%	22.9%	-4.7%	61.2%	19%
Waltham Forest	84.7%	26.7%	-4.5%	76.3%	18%
Redbridge	80.8%	23.2%	-2.6%	46.0%	17%
Bexley	74.5%	22.0%	-7.2%	57.1%	16%
Sutton	59.5%	25.7%	-4.3%	52.7%	15%
Hackney	67.7%	51.2%	-2.4%	62.8%	14%
Lewisham	76.5%	28.6%	0.6%	70.1%	13%
Havering	78.5%	23.5%	-8.2%	53.3%	12%
Croydon	66.8%	23.4%	-8.5%	59.1%	12%
Greenwich	74.2%	28.2%	-1.5%	59.5%	12%
Ealing	55.7%	27.4%	2.3%	51.1%	11%
Merton	53.1%	35.1%	0.1%	64.4%	10%
Hounslow	59.8%	28.0%	-4.2%	49.6%	10%
Hillingdon	64.5%	21.1%	-0.8%	55.1%	10%
Bromley	57.1%	22.4%	-2.1%	53.1%	9%
Islington	49.0%	40.1%	13.5%	42.4%	9%
Haringey	61.6%	37.5%	5.8%	55.6%	8%
Enfield	69.5%	23.3%	-4.5%	58.1%	6%
Southwark	64.2%	36.6%	10.5%	56.6%	5%
Harrow	64.1%	24.1%	-3.4%	52.2%	5%
Richmond upon Thames	38.6%	36.6%	4.6%	46.5%	5%
Lambeth	48.8%	40.1%	7.0%	57.7%	4%
Kingston upon Thames	51.9%	28.9%	0.9%	53.3%	3%
Brent	67.9%	26.4%	1.5%	61.7%	3%
Camden	37.9%	47.4%	13.9%	40.2%	2%
Tower Hamlets	52.5%	47.7%	-14.5%	64.5%	1%
Wandsworth	45.6%	40.2%	7.1%	52.2%	1%
Barnet	62.3%	25.7%	4.6%	51.0%	0%
Westminster	48.5%	39.2%	23.4%	51.5%	-1%
Kensington and Chelsea	27.7%	55.7%	28.1%	31.6%	-5%
Hammersmith and Fulham	40.9%	39.5%	14.0%	40.1%	-15%
City of London	60.0%	39.2%	47.2%	47.4%	-20%
London	61.4%	29.8%	3.0%	53.7%	6%
Inner London	56.2%	39.4%	7.1%	55.2%	4%
Outer London	65.8%	25.9%	-2.5%	55.9%	10%

 END 

Notes

–          Enness Global arranges high-value mortgages and finances secured against prime real estate in the UK and internationally. 

–          They work exclusively with over 500 global lenders to secure the best terms based on individual circumstances. 

–          They offer cohesive global mortgage solutions via a network of international offices and understand the intricacies of individual market places. 

–          Enness CEO, Islay Robinson, co-founded the company in 2007 and his expertise have recently been recognised by The Spear’s 500 Guide to the best private client advisers and also by Tatler, being the first HNW Property Financer to be included in their address book. 

–          Co-founder of Enness and Managing Director Hugh Wade-Jones is a widely recognised industry leader, winning Best Broker for Large Loans for three consecutive years, and described by the Financial Times as the to go mortgage broker for the super rich. 

–          Both have decades of industry experience between them and are unrivalled in their knowledge of the sector.