What is happening to Dacorum house prices during the coronavirus pandemic?

House prices dropped slightly in Dacorum in July, new Land Registry figures show.

​But the ​drop ​does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area ​achieve 0.9 per cent annual growth​.

The average Dacorum house price in July was £398,141, Land Registry figures show​ – a 0.6 per cent decrease on June.

Over the month, the picture was ​worse than that across the East of England, where prices ​increased 0.2 per cent​, and Dacorum underperformed compared to the 0.5 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Dacorum ​​rose by £3,600 – putting the ​area 24th among the East of England’s 47 local authorities for annual growth.

​The best annual growth in the region was in South Norfolk, where properties increased on average by 7.3%, to £274,000. ​At the other end of the scale, properties in Broxbourne dropped 4.5% in value, giving an average price of £342,000.

Owners of detached houses fared worst in Dacorum in July – they dropped 1.2 per cent in price, to £822,335 on average​. But over the last year, prices rose by 2.4 per cent.

Among other types of property:

- Semi-detached: down 0.3 per cent monthly; up 2.1 per cent annually; £454,849 average

- Terraced: down 0.6 per cent monthly; up 0.9 per cent annually; £344,387 average

- Flats: down 0.3 per cent monthly; down 1.4 per cent annually; £251,542 average.

First-time buyers in Dacorum spent an average of £​315,300 on their property – ​£1,700 more than a year ago, ​and ​£46,300 more than in July 2015.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £​466,600 on average in July​ – 48.0 per cent more than first-time buyers.

​How do property prices in Dacorum compare?

Buyers paid 35.0 per cent more than the average price in the East of England (£295,000) in July for a property in Dacorum. Across the East of England, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £238,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in Three Rivers – £517,000 on average, and 1.3 times as much as in Dacorum. Three Rivers properties cost three times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£173,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average July sale price of £1.2 million could buy 14 properties in Burnley (average £91,000).

​Factfile

Average property price in July:

- Dacorum: £398,141

- The East of England: £294,876

- UK: £237,963.

Annual growth to July:

- Dacorum: +0.9 per cent

- The East of England: +1.2 per cent

- UK: +2.3 per cent.

Best and worst annual growth in the East of England:

- South Norfolk: +7.3 per cent

- Broxbourne: -4.5 per cent.