Central London's property market is enduring one of its most protracted downturns in living memory, with fresh data showing prices in the capital's most prestigious postcodes continuing to slide even as the wider UK market stabilises. Boroughs such as Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster and the City of London have recorded year-on-year falls of between 5 and 8 per cent, according to the latest figures cited in reporting on the trend, with some prime central London (PCL) flats now changing hands for 15 to 20 per cent below their 2014 peak once inflation is accounted for. For a market segment that once seemed immune to national economic gravity, this is a striking reversal — and one with implications that stretch far beyond Belgravia and Mayfair.