Bedford house prices dropped in April - but owners of flats fared worst

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

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, where property prices in the area have achieved a 4.8 per cent annual growth.

The average Bedford house price in April was £298,449, Land Registry figures show – a 1.9 per cent decrease on March.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the East of England, where prices increased 0.3 per cent.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Bedford rose by £14,000 – putting the area 42nd among the East of England’s 50 local authorities for annual growth.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Owners of flats fared worst in Bedford in April – they dropped 2.2 per cent in price, to £162,390 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 2.1 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 1.8 per cent monthly; up 5.3 per cent annually; £488,594 average

Semi-detached: down 1.8 per cent monthly; up 5.1 per cent annually; £297,649 average

Terraced: down 1.9 per cent monthly; up 5.4 per cent annually; £233,993 average

FIRST STEPS ON THE PROPERTY LADDER

First-time buyers in Bedford spent an average of £241,000 on their property – £10,000 more than a year ago, and £39,000 more than in April 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £339,000 on average in April – 40.5 per cent more than first-time buyers.

HOW DO PROPERTY PRICES IN BEDFORD COMPARE?

Buyers paid 4.9 per cent less than the average price in the East of England (£314,000) in April for a property in Bedford. Across the East of England, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £251,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans – £543,000 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 (£186,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average April sale price of £1.1 million could buy 11 properties in East Ayrshire (average £105,000).