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

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 1.4 per cent over the last year.

The average Bedford house price in March was £348,288. Land Registry figures show a 1.5 per cent increase on February.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the East of England, where prices increased 0.5 per cent, and Bedford was above the 0.7 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Bedford rose by £4,700 – putting the area 13th among the East of England’s 45 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in East Cambridgeshire, where property prices increased on average by 10.6 per cent, to £355,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Hertsmere lost 9.9 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £470,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Bedford spent an average of £282,600 on their property – £4,800 more than a year ago, and £50,100 more than in March 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £394,500 on average in March – 39.6 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Bedford in March – they increased 1.7 per cent, to £567,791 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 1.8 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: up 1.4 per cent monthly; up 2.2 per cent annually; £352,632 averageTerraced: up 1.2 per cent monthly; up 1.3 per cent annually; £273,927 averageFlats: up 1.6 per cent monthly; down 0.8 per cent annually; £183,704 average

How do property prices in Bedford compare?

Buyers paid 1.8 per cent more than the average price in the East of England (£342,000) in March for a property in Bedford. Across the East of England, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £283,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans – £576,000 on average, and 1.7 times the price as in Bedford. St Albans properties cost 2.7 times the price as homes in Great Yarmouth (£212,000 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 March:

Bedford: £348,288

The East of England: £341,979

UK: £282,776

Annual growth to March:

Bedford: +1.4 per cent

The East of England: +0.8 per cent

UK: +1.8 per cent

Highest and lowest annual growth in the East of England:

East Cambridgeshire: +10.6 per cent

Hertsmere: -9.9 per cent