Wealden house prices dropped more than South East average in February

House prices dropped by 1.5% – more than the average for the South East – in Wealden in February, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 11.4% annual growth.

The average Wealden house price in February was £401,153, Land Registry figures show – a 1.5% decrease on January.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the South East, where prices decreased 0.3%, and Wealden underperformed compared to the 0.5% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Wealden rose by £41,000 – putting the area 36th among the South East’s 64 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Lewes, where property prices increased on average by 20.7%, to £410,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Slough lost 1.3% of their value, giving an average price of £296,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of terraced houses fared worst in Wealden in February – they dropped 1.5% in price, to £305,887 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 10%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 1.4% monthly; up 13.3% annually; £606,682 averageSemi-detached: down 1.5% monthly; up 11.7% annually; £364,117 averageFlats: down 1.5% monthly; up 5.6% annually; £196,998 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Wealden spent an average of £319,000 on their property – £31,000 more than a year ago, and £59,000 more than in February 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £446,000 on average in February – 39.6% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Wealden compare?

Buyers paid 5.4% more than the average price in the South East (£381,000) in February for a property in Wealden. Across the South East, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £277,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £691,000 on average, and 1.7 times as much as more than in Wealden. Elmbridge properties cost 2.9 times as much as homes in Portsmouth (£239,000 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 February

Wealden: £401,153The South East:£380,528UK: £276,755

Annual growth to February

Wealden: +11.4%The South East: +12%UK: +10.9%

Best and worst annual growth in the South East

Lewes: +20.7%Slough: -1.3%