Wealden house prices dropped more than South East average in April

House prices dropped by 0.8% – more than the average for the South East – in Wealden in April, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 3.1% over the last year.

The average Wealden house price in April was £414,126, Land Registry figures show – a 0.8% decrease on March.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the South East, where prices decreased 0.5%, and Wealden was lower than the 0.5% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Wealden rose by £13,000 – putting the area 48th among the South East’s 64 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Dover, where property prices increased on average by 8.9%, to £330,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Windsor and Maidenhead lost 1.4% of their value, giving an average price of £532,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Wealden spent an average of £329,800 on their property – £9,800 more than a year ago, and £66,000 more than in April 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £460,400 on average in April – 39.6% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Wealden in April – they dropped 1.3% in price, to £313,423 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 1.8%.

Among other types of property:

• Detached: down 0.6% monthly; up 3.7% annually; £627,924 average
• Semi-detached: down 0.7% monthly; up 3.6% annually; £378,216 average
• Flats: down 0.7% monthly; up 0.9% annually; £199,496 average

How do property prices in Wealden compare?

Buyers paid 5.7% more than the average price in the South East (£392,000) in April for a property in Wealden. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £286,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £679,000 on average, and 1.6 times the price as in Wealden. Elmbridge properties cost 2.8 times the price as homes in Southampton (£245,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea.

Factfile

Average property price in April

• Wealden: £414,126
• The South East:£391,766
• UK: £286,489

Annual growth to April

• Wealden: +3.1%
• The South East: +3.5%
• UK: +3.5%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South East

• Dover: +8.9%
• Windsor and Maidenhead: -1.4%