House prices dropped slightly, by 0.5%, in East Hampshire in April, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 7.5% over the last year.

The average East Hampshire house price in April was £460,183, Land Registry figures show – a 0.5% decrease on March.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the South East, where prices decreased 0.5%, and East Hampshire was lower than the 0.5% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in East Hampshire rose by £32,000 – putting the area ninth among the South East’s 64 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Dover, where property prices increased on average by 8.9%, to £330,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Windsor and Maidenhead lost 1.4% of their value, giving an average price of £532,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in East Hampshire spent an average of £330,000 on their property – £22,000 more than a year ago, and £55,000 more than in April 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £536,000 on average in April – 62.2% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in East Hampshire in April – they dropped 0.9% in price, to £351,918 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 6.7%.

Among other types of property:

  • Detached: down 0.3% monthly; up 8.3% annually; £729,695 average
  • Semi-detached: down 0.4% monthly; up 7.9% annually; £450,309 average
  • Flats: down 0.4% monthly; up 5.2% annually; £213,622 average

How do property prices in East Hampshire compare?

Buyers paid 17.5% more than the average price in the South East (£392,000) in April for a property in East Hampshire. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £286,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £679,000 on average, and 1.5 times the price as in East Hampshire. Elmbridge properties cost 2.8 times the price as homes in Southampton (£245,000 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 April

  • East Hampshire: £460,183
  • The South East:£391,766
  • UK: £286,489

Annual growth to April

  • East Hampshire: +7.5%
  • The South East: +3.5%
  • UK: +3.5%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South East

  • Dover: +8.9%
  • Windsor and Maidenhead: -1.4%