House prices in Bedford increase slightly

House prices increased slightly by 0.6% in Bedford in December, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 12.9% over the last year.

The average Bedford house price in December was £366,375, Land Registry figures show – a 0.6% increase on November.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the East of England, where prices decreased 0.8%, and Bedford was above the 0.4% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Bedford rose by £42,000 – putting the area ninth among the East of England’s 45 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Peterborough, where property prices increased on average by 18.5%, to £255,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in North Norfolk gained 3.5% in value, giving an average price of £319,000.

FIRST STEPS ON THE PROPERTY LADDER

First-time buyers in Bedford spent an average of £295,000 on their property – £35,000 more than a year ago, and £65,000 more than in December 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £418,000 on average in December – 41.6% more than first-time buyers.

PROPERTY TYPES

Owners of flats saw the biggest rise in property prices in Bedford in December – they increased 1%, to £189,506 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 10.7%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 0.6% monthly; up 12.9% annually; £612,077 average

Semi-detached: up 0.6% monthly; up 13% annually; £366,801 average

Terraced: up 0.7% monthly; up 13.7% annually; £286,078 average

HOW DO PROPERTY PRICES IN BEDFORD COMPARE?

Buyers paid 0.7% more than the average price in the East of England (£364,000) in December 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 £294,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans – £615,000 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 (£228,000 average), at the other end of the scale.