Standing view · housing · Westminster
deteriorating, held with established confidence, formed on 31 August 2026 from movements in 2026-07.
Households in temporary accommodation with children in Westminster rose to 2,291 in the first quarter of 2026. The average house price moved from £856,885 in March 2026 to £835,983 in April and £845,825 in May, and 75 homes were sold in April. Rents were high across the board: a two-bedroom home cost £3,224 a month in March, a terraced home £3,777 in June and a one-bedroom home £2,533 in July. The pressure here is in the homelessness figures.
A view is formed only where the evidence names a figure you can check. Each movement listed as a reason had to be large enough to matter and distinctive in at least one way — unusual against this area's own history, unusual against comparable areas, or sustained over several periods. A movement shared with peers counts for less, because it says something about the country rather than about Westminster. Where no figure supports a direction we hold no view rather than a hedged one.
| Measure | Period | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Households in temporary accommodation with children | 2026-Q1 | deteriorating |
These figures carry no defensible direction of their own: a rising house price is good news to an owner and bad news to someone trying to buy, so we do not score one as an improvement. They are shown because they are part of the picture, and they did not decide the view above.
| Measure | Period | Series |
|---|---|---|
| Average house price | 2026-03 | — |
| Average private rent, two bedrooms | 2026-03 | — |
| Average house price | 2026-04 | — |
| Homes sold | 2026-04 | falling |
| Average house price | 2026-05 | — |
| Average private rent, terraced | 2026-06 | — |
| Average private rent, one bedroom | 2026-07 | — |