House prices in Dacorum dropped in September

House prices dropped by 1.7 per cent in Dacorum in September, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 5.4 per cent annual growth.

The average Dacorum house price in September was £430,851, Land Registry figures show – a 1.7 per cent decrease on August.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the East of England, where prices increased 1.7 per cent, and Dacorum underperformed compared to the 2.5 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Dacorum rose by £22,000 – putting the area 41st among the East of England’s 50 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Maldon, where property prices increased on average by 16.1 per cent, to £382,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in East Cambridgeshire gained 0.5 per cent in value, giving an average price of £295,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of flats fared worst in Dacorum in September – they dropped 2 per cent in price, to £263,162 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 2.1 per cent.

Among other types of property:

> Detached: down 1.3 per cent monthly; up 7.7 per cent annually; £912,084 average

> Semi-detached: down 1.6 per cent monthly; up 6.5 per cent annually; £495,884 average

> Terraced: down 1.9 per cent monthly; up 5.1 per cent annually; £372,337 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Dacorum spent an average of £338,000 on their property – £15,000 more than a year ago, and £29,000 more than in September 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £509,000 on average in September – 50.7 per cent more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Dacorum compare?

Buyers paid 31.4 per cent more than the average price in the East of England (£328,000) in September for a property in Dacorum. Across the East of England, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £270,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans – £569,000 on average, and 1.3 times as much as in Dacorum. St Albans properties cost three times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£193,000 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 September:

> Dacorum: £430,851

> The East of England: £327,982

> UK: £269,945

Annual growth to September:

> Dacorum: +5.4 per cent

> The East of England: +9.3 per cent

> UK: +11.8 per cent.