Bedford house prices increase more than East of England average

House prices increased by 3.2 per cent – more than the average for the East of England – in Bedford in December, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 15.5 per cent annual growth.

The average Bedford house price in December was £335,018, Land Registry figures show – a 3.2 per cent increase on November.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across the East of England, where prices increased 0.4 per cent, and Bedford outperformed the 0.8 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

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

The best annual growth in the region was in South Norfolk, where property prices increased on average by 21.1 per cent, to £337,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Watford lost 0.6 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £358,000.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Bedford in December – they increased 3.9 per cent, to £565,851 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 19.7 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: up 3 per cent monthly; up 15.5 per cent annually; £333,258 average

Terraced: up 2.9 per cent monthly; up 12.4 per cent annually; £256,446 average

Flats: up 2.5 per cent monthly; up 11.5 per cent annually; £178,081 average

FIRST STEPS ON THE PROPERTY LADDER

First-time buyers in Bedford spent an average of £268,000 on their property – £33,000 more than a year ago, and £47,000 more than in December 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £385,000 on average in December – 43.6 per cent more than first-time buyers.

HOW DO PROPERTY PRICES IN BEDFORD COMPARE?

Buyers paid 1.3 per cent less than the average price in the East of England (£340,000) in December for a property in Bedford. Across the East of England, property prices are roughly the same as those across the UK, where the average cost £275,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans – £577,000 on average, and 1.7 times as much as more than in Bedford. St Albans properties cost 2.9 times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£202,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea.