House prices in Dacorum increased more than the East of England average in January

House prices increased by 2.8 per cent – more than the average for the East of England – in Dacorum in January, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 10.1 per cent annual growth.

The average Dacorum house price in January was £440,996, Land Registry figures show – a 2.8 per cent increase on December.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across the East of England, where prices increased 0.7 per cent, and Dacorum outperformed the 0.5 per cent drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Dacorum rose by £40,000 – putting the area fourth among the East of England’s 50 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in North Norfolk, where property prices increased on average by 14.1%, to £294,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Peterborough gained 1.7 per cent in value, giving an average price of £199,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Dacorum in January – they increased 3.5 per cent, to £506,690 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 11.6 per cent.

Among other types of property:

> Detached: up 3.2 per cent monthly; up 12.4 per cent annually; £922,824 average

> Terraced: up 2.8 per cent monthly; up 10.5 per cent annually; £383,051 average

> Flats: up 1.9 per cent monthly; up 5.9 per cent annually; £272,158 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Dacorum spent an average of £347,000 on their property – £30,000 more than a year ago, and £52,000 more than in December 2015.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £520,000 on average in January – 49.6% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Dacorum compare?

Buyers paid 42 per cent more than the average price in the East of England (£311,000) in January for a property in Dacorum. Across the East of England, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £249,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in Three Rivers – £533,000 on average, and 1.2 times as much as in Dacorum. Three Rivers properties cost 2.8 times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£189,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average January sale price of £1.3 million could buy 14 properties in Blaenau Gwent (average £93,000).

Factfile

Average property price in January

> Dacorum: £440,996

> The East of England: £310,639

> UK: £249,309

Annual growth to January

> Dacorum: +10.1 per cent

> The East of England: +7.5 per cent

> UK: +7.5 per cent