Wealden house prices increased in October

House prices increased by 1.6% in Wealden in October, new figures show.

But the rise does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 2.6% annual decline.

The average Wealden house price in October was £417,634, Land Registry figures show – a 1.6% increase on September.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South East, where prices decreased 0.9%, and Wealden was above the 0.7% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Wealden fell by £11,000 – putting the area 45th among the South East’s 64 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Tandridge, where property prices increased on average by 10.3%, to £575,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Hastings lost 9.2% of their value, giving an average price of £269,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Wealden spent an average of £333,100 on their property – £8,400 less than a year ago, but £56,700 more than in October 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £464,000 on average in October – 39.3% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Wealden in October – they increased 1.9%, to £384,102 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 1.7%.

Among other types of property:

• Detached: up 1.7% monthly; down 2% annually; £631,879 average
• Terraced: up 1.2% monthly; down 3.9% annually; £318,161 average
• Flats: up 1.3% monthly; down 4.7% annually; £198,287 average

How do property prices in Wealden compare?

Buyers paid 7.3% more than the average price in the South East (£389,000) in October for a property in Wealden. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £288,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £721,000 on average, and 1.7 times the price as in Wealden. Elmbridge properties cost three times the price as homes in Southampton (£243,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, at £1.4 million.

Factfile

Average property price in October

• Wealden: £417,634
• The South East:£389,223
• UK: £287,782

Annual change to October

• Wealden: -2.6%
• The South East: -2%
• UK: -1.2%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South East

• Tandridge: +10.3%
• Hastings: -9.2%