Chichester house prices dropped slightly in May

House prices are slightly down in Chichester (Credit: Andrew Matthews/PA)

House prices dropped slightly, by 0.2%, in Chichester in May, new figures show.

The drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 2.7% annual decline – the worst in the South East.

The average Chichester house price in May was £395,931, Land Registry figures show – a 0.2% decrease on April.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the South East, where prices increased 1.4%, and Chichester underperformed compared to the 0.9% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Chichester remained level – putting the area bottom among the South East’s 70 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Oxford, where property prices increased on average by 16.1%, to £456,000.

This former church in a coastal Sussex village is up for auction

Winners and Losers

Owners of detached houses fared worst in Chichester in May – they dropped 0.2% in price, to £624,585 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 2.2%.

Among other types of property:

Terraced: remained level over the month; down 1.8% annually; £330,890 averageFlats: down 0.1% monthly; down 5.1% annually; £205,613 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Chichester spent an average of £300,600 on their property – £9,200 less than a year ago, and £35,300 more than in May 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £448,200 on average in May – 49.1% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Chichester compare?

Buyers paid 13.1% more than the average price in the South East (£350,000) in May for a property in Chichester. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £255,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £646,000 on average, and 1.6 times as much as in Chichester. Elmbridge properties cost 2.9 times as much as homes in Southampton (£221,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average May sale price of £1.2 million could buy 12 properties in Burnley (average £100,000).

Factfile

Average property price in May

Chichester: £395,931

The South East: £350,016

UK: £254,624

Annual change to May

Chichester: -2.7%

The South East: +9.1%

UK: +10%

Best and worst annual growth in the South East

Oxford: +16.1%

Chichester: -2.7%