Bedford house prices increased more than East of England average in March

House prices increased by 1.3 per cent – more than the average for the East of England – in Bedford in March, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, where property prices in the area have achieved 8.6 per cent annual growth.

The average Bedford house price in March was £305,419, Land Registry figures show – a 1.3 per cent increase on February.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the East of England, where prices increased 1.2 per cent, but Bedford underperformed compared to the 1.8 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Bedford rose by £24,000 – putting the area 16th among the East of England’s 50 local authorities for annual growth.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Owners of detached houses had the biggest improvement in property prices in Bedford in March – they increased 1.4 per cent, to £500,063 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 9.5 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: up 1.2 per cent monthly; up 8.7 per cent annually; £304,007 average

Flats: up 1.3 per cent monthly; up 5.5 per cent annually; £166,609 average

FIRST STEPS ON THE PROPERTY LADDER

First-time buyers in Bedford spent an average of £247,000 on their property – £18,000 more than a year ago, and £47,000 more than in March 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £348,000 on average in March – 41.1 per cent more than first-time buyers.

HOW DO PROPERTY PRICES IN BEDFORD COMPARE?

Buyers paid 3.1 per cent less than the average price in the East of England (£315,000) in March for a property in Bedford. Across the East of England, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £256,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in Three Rivers – £544,000 on average, and 1.8 times as much as in Bedford. Three Rivers properties cost three times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£184,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average March sale price of £1.3 million could buy 14 properties in Burnley (average £94,000).