House prices increase in Bedford as they drop across the East of England

House prices increased by 1.9% in Bedford in March, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 7.7% over the last year.

The average Bedford house price in March was £359,804, Land Registry figures show – a 1.9% increase on February.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the East of England, where prices decreased 2%, and Bedford was above the 1.2% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Bedford rose by £26,000 – putting the area seventh among the East of England’s 45 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

FIRST STEPS ON THE PROPERTY LADDER

First-time buyers in Bedford spent an average of £289,000 on their property – £21,000 more than a year ago, and £56,000 more than in March 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £412,000 on average in March – 42.6% more than first-time buyers.

PROPERTY TYPES

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Bedford in March – they increased 2.6%, to £605,534 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 8.7%.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: up 2% monthly; up 7.7% annually; £360,894 average

Terraced: up 1.2% monthly; up 7.4% annually; £278,080 average

Flats: up 1.7% monthly; up 5.7% annually; £185,624 average

HOW DO PROPERTY PRICES IN BEDFORD COMPARE?

Buyers paid 2.2% more than the average price in the East of England (£352,000) in March for a property in Bedford. Across the East of England, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £285,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans – £608,000 on average, and 1.7 times as much as more than in Bedford. St Albans properties cost 2.8 times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£219,000 average), at the other end of the scale.