Dacorum house prices increased slightly in November

House prices increased slightly, by 0.5 per cent, in Dacorum in November, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 7.8 per cent annual growth.

The average Dacorum house price in November was £449,186, Land Registry figures show – a 0.5 per cent increase on October.

Over the month, the picture was less good than that across the East of England, where prices increased 2.1 per cent, and Dacorum underperformed compared to the 1.2 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Dacorum rose by £33,000 – putting the area 37th among the East of England’s 45 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

Winners and Losers

Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Dacorum in November – they increased 0.8 per cent, to £519,742 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 9.6 per cent.

Among other types of property:

> Detached: up 0.7 per cent monthly; up 10.9 per cent annually; £960,477 average

> Terraced: up 0.3 per cent monthly; up 7.1 per cent annually; £387,081 average

> Flats: up 0.3 per cent monthly; up 3.6 per cent annually; £271,049 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Dacorum spent an average of £352,000 on their property – £22,000 more than a year ago, and £35,000 more than in November 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £532,000 on average in November – 51.3 per cent more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Dacorum compare?

Buyers paid 33.3 per cent more than the average price in the East of England (£337,000) in November for a property in Dacorum. Across the East of England, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £271,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans – £572,000 on average, and 1.3 times as much as more than in Dacorum. St Albans properties cost 2.8 times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£202,000 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 November:

> Dacorum: £449,186

> The East of England: £336,937

> UK: £270,708

Annual growth to November:

> Dacorum: +7.8 per cent

> The East of England: +12.3 per cent

> UK: +10 per cent.