Worthing house prices increased slightly in April

House prices increased slightly, by 0.2%, in Worthing in April, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 12.6% over the last year.

An imbalance between supply and demand for properties has remained the primary reason behind climbing house prices across the UK throughout the pandemic.

The need for larger deposits and constraints on accessing mortgages have pushed homeownership further out of reach for many first-time buyers – despite Government figures showing 50% of renters would be able to afford the monthly payments.

In a recent major speech in Blackpool, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a “comprehensive review” of the mortgage market would take place in a bid to help more people onto the property ladder.

The average Worthing house price in April was £340,090, Land Registry figures show – a 0.2% increase on March.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the South East, where prices decreased 0.3%, but Worthing was lower than the 1.1% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Worthing rose by £38,000 – putting the area 23rd among the South East’s 64 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Milton Keynes, where property prices increased on average by 18.4%, to £323,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Slough gained just 3.8% in value, giving an average price of £304,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Worthing spent an average of £272,000 on their property – £29,000 more than a year ago, and £54,000 more than in April 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £398,000 on average in April – 46.2% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Worthing in April – they increased 0.4%, to £357,645 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 12.9%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 0.1% monthly; up 15.2% annually; £636,121 averageSemi-detached: up 0.2% monthly; up 14.5% annually; £447,946 averageFlats: up 0.1% monthly; up 9.8% annually; £218,535 average

How do property prices in Worthing compare?

Buyers paid 11.2% less than the average price in the South East (£383,000) in April for a property in Worthing. Across the South East, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £281,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £667,000 on average, and twice as much as more than in Worthing. Elmbridge properties cost 2.8 times as much as homes in Southampton (£240,000 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

Worthing: £340,090The South East:£382,791UK: £281,161

Annual growth to April

Worthing: +12.6%The South East: +11.9%UK: +12.4%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South East

Milton Keynes: +18.4%Slough: +3.8%