Bedford house prices increased slightly in February

House prices increased slightly, by 0.7 per cent, in Bedford in February, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, where property prices in the area have achieved 6.9 per cent annual growth.

The average Bedford house price in February was £302,732, Land Registry figures show – a 0.7 per cent increase on January.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across the East of England, where prices decreased 0.9 per cent, and Bedford outperformed the UK as a whole, where prices did not change.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Bedford rose by £20,000 – putting the area 20th among the East of England’s 50 local authorities for annual growth.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Owners of flats saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Bedford in February – they increased 1.5 per cent, to £166,010 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 4.3 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 0.4 per cent monthly; up 7.1 per cent annually; £492,399 average

Semi-detached: up 0.6 per cent monthly; up 7.4 per cent annually; £302,129 average

Terraced: up 0.7 per cent monthly; up 7.6 per cent annually; £237,915 average

FIRST STEPS ON THE PROPERTY LADDER

First-time buyers in Bedford spent an average of £245,000 on their property – £15,000 more than a year ago, and £48,000 more than in January 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £344,000 on average in February – 40.4 per cent more than first-time buyers.

HOW DO PROPERTY PRICES IN BEDFORD COMPARE?

Buyers paid 1.2 per cent less than the average price in the East of England (£306,000) in February for a property in Bedford. Across the East of England, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £250,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans – £555,000 on average, and 1.8 times as much as in Bedford. St Albans properties cost 2.9 times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£188,000 average), at the other end of the scale.