Bedford house prices increased more than East of England average

House prices increased by 3% – more than the average for the East of England – in Bedford in February, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 13.9% annual growth.

The average Bedford house price in February was £338,877, Land Registry figures show – a 3% increase on January.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across the East of England, where prices increased 1.3%, and Bedford outperformed the 0.5% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Bedford rose by £41,000 – putting the area 11th among the East of England’s 45 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Owners of flats saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Bedford in February – they increased 3.1%, to £179,188 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 9.7%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 3.1% monthly; up 17.3% annually; £569,930 average

Semi-detached: up 2.9% monthly; up 14.1% annually; £337,687 average

Terraced: up 2.8% monthly; up 11.9% annually; £261,220 average

FIRST STEPS ON THE PROPERTY LADDER

First-time buyers in Bedford spent an average of £271,000 on their property – £31,000 more than a year ago, and £50,000 more than in February 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £389,000 on average in February – 43.2% more than first-time buyers.

HOW DO PROPERTY PRICES COMPARE?

Buyers paid 2% less than the average price in the East of England (£346,000) in February 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 £277,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in Three Rivers – £579,000 on average, and 1.7 times as much as more than in Bedford. Three Rivers properties cost 2.7 times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£213,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

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