Bedford house prices drop slightly

House prices dropped slightly in Bedford in July, new figures show.

​But the ​drop ​does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area ​remain level​.

The average Bedford house price in July was £283,779, Land Registry figures show​ – a 0.7 per cent decrease on June.

Over the month, the picture was ​worse than that across the East of England, where prices ​increased 0.2 per cent​, and Bedford under performed compared to the 0.5 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Bedford ​​remained level – putting the ​area 28th among the East of England’s 47 local authorities for annual growth.

​WINNERS AND LOSERS

Owners of detached houses fared worst in Bedford in July – they dropped 0.9 per cent in price, to £460,395 on average​. But over the last year, prices rose by 0.2 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: down 0.5 per cent monthly; up 1.3 per cent annually; £284,100 average

Terraced: down 0.7 per cent monthly; up 0.2 per cent annually; £221,340 average

Flats: down 0.5 per cent monthly; down 3.3 per cent annually; £157,360 average

​FIRST STEPS ON THE PROPERTY LADDER

First-time buyers in Bedford spent an average of £​230,220 on their property – ​£560 less than a year ago, ​and ​£43,160 more than in July 2015.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £​321,730 on average in July​ – 39.8 per cent more than first-time buyers.

​HOW DO PROPERTY PRICES IN BEDFORD COMPARE?

Buyers paid 3.8 per cent less than the average price in the East of England (£295,000) in July for a property in Bedford. Across the East of England, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £238,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in Three Rivers – £517,000 on average, and 1.8 times as much as in Bedford. Three Rivers properties cost three times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£173,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average July sale price of £1.2million could buy 14 properties in Burnley (average £91,000).