Wealden house prices increased slightly in December

House prices increased slightly, by 0.4%, in Wealden in December, new figures show.

But the rise does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 4.2% annual decline.

The average Wealden house price in December was £406,939, Land Registry figures show – a 0.4% increase on November.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South East, where prices decreased 1.9%, and Wealden was above the 0.1% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Wealden fell by £18,000 – putting the area 40th among the South East’s 64 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Winchester, where property prices increased on average by 7.9%, to £538,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Gosport lost 11.5% of their value, giving an average price of £230,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Wealden spent an average of £327,000 on their property – £12,000 less than a year ago, but £56,000 more than in December 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £450,000 on average in December – 37.7% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Wealden in December – they increased 1%, to £376,396 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 2.9%.

Among other types of property:

• Detached: up 0% monthly; down 4.1% annually; £611,609 average
• Terraced: up 0.3% monthly; down 5.4% annually; £310,435 average
• Flats: up 0.4% monthly; down 6.1% annually; £194,673 average

How do property prices in Wealden compare?

Buyers paid 7.9% more than the average price in the South East (£377,000) in December for a property in Wealden. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £285,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £730,000 on average, and 1.8 times the price as in Wealden. Elmbridge properties cost 3.2 times the price as homes in Gosport (£230,000 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 December

• Wealden: £406,939
• The South East:£377,162
• UK: £284,691

Annual change to December

• Wealden: -4.2%
• The South East: -4.6%
• UK: -1.4%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South East

• Winchester: +7.9%
• Gosport: -11.5%