Bedford house prices increased more than East of England average in August

House prices increased by 1.5% – more than the average for the East of England – in Bedford in August, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 12.6% over the last year.

The average Bedford house price in August was £353,216, Land Registry figures show – a 1.5% increase on July.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the East of England, where prices increased 1.2%, and Bedford was above the 0.9% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Bedford rose by £40,000 – putting the area 24th among the East of England’s 45 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

An imbalance between supply and demand for properties saw house prices climb across the UK throughout the pandemic.

But experts say expectations have changed significantly in recent weeks amid mortgage rate rises, with the likelihood of a dampening effect on house price growth.

Chris Druce, senior research analyst at Knight Frank, said: “Current activity in the housing market is being shaped by mortgage status.

“Those that can are pushing on and securing deals ahead of further increases, while others have paused plans to digest events.

“With affordability set to be a growing barrier for many homebuyers in the coming months, we forecast house price growth will slow from here, with price falls in 2023.”

FIRST STEPS ON THE PROPERTY LADDER

First-time buyers in Bedford spent an average of £284,000 on their property – £30,000 more than a year ago, and £52,000 more than in August 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £405,000 on average in August – 42.7% more than first-time buyers.

PROPERTY TYPES

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Bedford in August – they increased 1.6%, to £274,451 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 11.7%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 1.5% monthly; up 14.4% annually; £590,323 average

Semi-detached: up 1.4% monthly; up 12.8% annually; £353,341 average

Flats: up 1.3% monthly; up 9.6% annually; £184,949 average

HOW DO PROPERTY PRICES COMPARE?

Buyers paid 3.2% less than the average price in the East of England (£365,000) in August for a property in Bedford. Across the East of England, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £296,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans – £616,000 on average, and 1.7 times as much as more than in Bedford. St Albans properties cost 2.7 times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£232,000 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 August

Bedford: £353,216

The East of England: £364,885

UK: £295,903

Annual growth to August

Bedford: +12.6%

The East of England: +14.3%

UK: +13.6%