House prices in Dacorum dropped more than average in May

House prices dropped more than average for the East of England in Dacorum in May, new figures show.

​But the ​drop ​does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area ​achieve 0.7 per cent annual growth​.

The average Dacorum house price in May was £396,169, Land Registry figures show​ – a 1.6 per cent decrease on April.

Over the month, the picture was ​worse than that across the East of England, where prices ​decreased 1.0 per cent​, and Dacorum underperformed compared to the 0.3 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Dacorum ​​rose by £2,900 – putting the ​area 22nd among the East of England’s 45 local authorities for annual growth.

​Winners and Losers

Owners of detached houses fared worst in Dacorum in May – they dropped 2.0 per cent in price, to £817,345 on average​. But over the last year, prices rose by 1.8 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: down 1.4 per cent monthly; up 1.4 per cent annually; £450,217 average

Terraced: down 1.7 per cent monthly; up 0.5 per cent annually; £341,421 average

Flats: down 1.2 per cent monthly; down 0.3 per cent annually; £253,443 average

​First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Dacorum spent an average of £​314,200 on their property – ​£1,400 more than a year ago, ​and ​£54,100 more than in May 2015.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £​463,600 on average in May​ – 47.5 per cent more than first-time buyers.

​How do property prices in Dacorum compare?

Buyers paid 17.3 per cent% less than the average price in the East of England (£479,000) in May for a property in Dacorum. Across the East of England, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £236,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in Three Rivers – £508,000 on average, and 1.3 times as much as in Dacorum. Three Rivers properties cost three times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£172,000 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 £1.4 million could buy 16 properties in Burnley (average £88,000).