House prices drop slightly in Central Bedfordshire

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 0.4 per cent over the last year.

The average Central Bedfordshire house price in April was £352,266. Land Registry figures show a 0.7 per cent decrease on March.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the East of England, where prices decreased 0.7 per cent, and Central Bedfordshire was lower than the 0.3 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Central Bedfordshire rose by £1,400 – putting the area 20th 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 7.8 per cent, to £351,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Watford lost 8.6 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £376,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Central Bedfordshire spent an average of £286,200 on their property – £1,400 more than a year ago, and £39,400 more than in April 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £400,400 on average in April – 39.9 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Central Bedfordshire in April – they dropped 1.1 per cent in price, to £297,481 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 0.2 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 0.6 per cent monthly; up 0.8 per cent annually; £580,936 averageSemi-detached: down 0.4 per cent monthly; up 1.6 per cent annually; £367,759 averageFlats: down 0.7 per cent monthly; down 1.9 per cent annually; £183,620 average

How do property prices in Central Bedfordshire compare?

Buyers paid 5 per cent more than the average price in the East of England (£335,000) in April for a property in Central Bedfordshire. Across the East of England, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost is £281,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans – £578,000 on average, and 1.6 times the price as in Central Bedfordshire. St Albans properties cost 2.7 times the price as homes in Great Yarmouth (£218,000 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 April:

Central Bedfordshire: £352,266

The East of England: £335,448

UK: £281,373

Annual growth to April:

Central Bedfordshire: +0.4 per cent

The East of England: +0.4 per cent

UK: +1.1 per cent

Highest and lowest annual growth in the East of England:

East Cambridgeshire: +7.8 per cent

Watford: -8.6 per cent