It's a good time to buy as Bedford house prices drop

House prices dropped by 1.9 per cent in Bedford in November, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 11.4 per cent annual growth.

The average Bedford house price in November was £322,214, Land Registry figures show – a 1.9 per cent decrease on October.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the East of England, where prices increased 2.1 per cent, and Bedford underperformed compared to the 1.2 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Bedford rose by £33,000 – putting the area 20th among the East of England’s 45 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Owners of flats fared worst in Bedford in November – they dropped 2.3 per cent in price, to £171,523 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 7.7 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 1.6 per cent monthly; up 14.6 per cent annually; £540,397 average

Semi-detached: down 1.8 per cent monthly; up 11.9 per cent annually; £322,059 average

Terraced: down 2.1 per cent monthly; up 8.9 per cent annually; £247,211 average

FIRST STEPS ON THE PROPERTY LADDER

First-time buyers in Bedford spent an average of £258,000 on their property – £24,000 more than a year ago, and £38,000 more than in November 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £369,000 on average in November – 43.1 per cent more than first-time buyers.

HOW DO PROPERTY PRICES IN BEDFORD COMPARE?

Buyers paid 4.4 per cent less than the average price in the East of England (£337,000) in November for a property in Bedford. Across the East of England, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £271,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans – £572,000 on average, and 1.8 times as much as more than in Bedford. St Albans properties cost 2.8 times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£202,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

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