Bedford house prices increased in May - outperforming the rest of the UK

House prices increased by 1.6 per cent in Bedford in May, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, where property prices in the area have achieved 6.7 per cent annual growth.

The average Bedford house price in May was £305,523, Land Registry figures show – a 1.6 per cent increase on April.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across the East of England, where prices decreased one per cent, and Bedford outperformed the 0.9 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Bedford rose by £19,000 – putting the area 36th among the East of England’s 50 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Great Yarmouth, where property prices increased on average by 15.6 per cent, to £197,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in East Cambridgeshire gained one per cent in value, giving an average price of £285,000.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Owners of flats experienced the biggest improvement in property prices in Bedford in May – they increased 1.9 per cent, to £167,484 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 4.6 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 1.7 per cent monthly; up 7.5 per cent annually; £501,547 average

Semi-detached: up 1.4 per cent monthly; up 6.5 per cent annually; £303,455 average

Terraced: up 1.4 per cent monthly; up 7.2 per cent annually; £238,821 average

FIRST STEPS ON THE PROPERTY LADDER

First-time buyers in Bedford spent an average of £247,000 on their property – £14,000 more than a year ago, and £39,000 more than in May 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £348,000 on average in May – 40.9 per cent more than first-time buyers.

HOW DO PROPERTY PRICES IN BEDFORD COMPARE?

Buyers paid 1.5 per cent less than the average price in the East of England (£310,000) in May for a property in Bedford. Across the East of England, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £255,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in Three Rivers – £547,000 on average, and 1.8 times as much as in Bedford. Three Rivers properties cost 2.8 times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£197,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average May sale price of £1.2 million could buy 12 properties in Burnley (average £100,000).