Lewes house prices dropped more than South East average in December

General view of estate agents signs outside a block of flats in Basingstoke, Hampshire.

House prices dropped by 2.5% – more than the average for the South East – in Lewes in December, new figures show.

The drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 5.8% annual decline.

The average Lewes house price in December was £387,871, Land Registry figures show – a 2.5% decrease on November.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South East, where prices decreased 1.9%, and Lewes was lower than the 0.1% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Lewes fell by £24,000 – putting the area 49th among the South East’s 64 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Winchester, where property prices increased on average by 7.9%, to £538,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Gosport lost 11.5% of their value, giving an average price of £230,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Lewes spent an average of £301,000 on their property – £20,000 less than a year ago, but £41,000 more than in December 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £443,000 on average in December – 47% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Lewes in December – they dropped 2.8% in price, to £597,591 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 5.4%.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached:

Terraced:

Flats:

How do property prices in Lewes compare?

Buyers paid 2.8% more than the average price in the South East (£377,000) in December for a property in Lewes. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £285,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £730,000 on average, and 1.9 times the price as in Lewes. Elmbridge properties cost 3.2 times the price as homes in Gosport (£230,000 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 December

Lewes: £387,871
The South East:£377,162
UK: £284,691

Annual change to December

Lewes: -5.8%
The South East: -4.6%
UK: -1.4%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South East

Winchester: +7.9%
Gosport: -11.5%