Bedford house prices dropped more than East of England average

House prices dropped by 3.5% – more than the average for the East of England – in Bedford in December, new figures show.

The drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 2.8% annual decline. The average Bedford house price in December was £343,755, Land Registry figures show – a 3.5% decrease on November.

Prices across the East of England region dropped by 0.5% – but rose by 0.1% on average across the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Bedford fell by £10,000 – putting the area 19th 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 3.8%, to £357,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Welwyn Hatfield lost 9.5% of their value, giving an average price of £400,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Bedford spent an average of £276,600 on their property – £7,600 less than a year ago, but £39,700 more than in December 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £392,200 on average in December – 41.8% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Bedford in December – they dropped 3.8% in price, to £572,254 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 2.5%.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: down 3% monthly; down 1.6% annually; £349,764 averageTerraced: down 3.5% monthly; down 3.7% annually; £267,232 averageFlats: down 3.7% monthly; down 4.8% annually; £174,746 average

How do property prices in Bedford compare?

Buyers paid roughly the same as the average price in the East of England (£342,000) in December 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 £285,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in Three Rivers – £583,000 on average, and 1.7 times the price as in Bedford. Three Rivers properties cost 2.8 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 December

Bedford: £343,755The East of England: £342,489UK: £284,691Annual change to December

Bedford: -2.8%The East of England: -3.8%UK: -1.4%Highest and lowest annual growth in the East of England

East Cambridgeshire: +3.8%Welwyn Hatfield: -9.5%