Dacorum house prices increased in August

House prices increased by 1.8 per cent in Dacorum in August, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 6.9 per cent annual growth.

The average Dacorum house price in August was £436,905, Land Registry figures show – a 1.8 per cent increase on July.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Dacorum rose by £28,000 – putting the area 44th among the East of England’s 50 local authorities for annual growth.

Winners and Losers

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Dacorum in August – they increased 2.6 per cent, to £921,929 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 9.5 per cent.

Among other types of property:

> Semi-detached: up 2.1 per cent monthly; up 8.1 per cent annually; £503,044 average

> Terraced: up 1.4 per cent monthly; up 6.6 per cent annually; £377,668 average

> Flats: up 1.1 per cent monthly; up 3.5 per cent annually; £267,621 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Dacorum spent an average of £343,000 on their property – £19,000 more than a year ago, and £33,000 more than in August 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £516,000 on average in August – 50.6% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Dacorum compare?

Buyers paid 34.6 per cent more than the average price in the East of England (£325,000) in August for a property in Dacorum. Across the East of England, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £264,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans – £588,000 on average, and 1.3 times as much as in Dacorum. St Albans properties cost 3.1 times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£190,000 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 August:

> Dacorum: £436,905

> The East of England: £324,510

> UK: £264,244

Annual growth to August:

> Dacorum: +6.9 per cent

> The East of England: +9.6 per cent

> UK: +10.6 per cent.