Mid Sussex house prices dropped more than South East average in April

House prices dropped by 1.2% – more than the average for the South East – in Mid Sussex in April, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 4% over the last year.

The average Mid Sussex house price in April was £464,677, Land Registry figures show – a 1.2% decrease on March.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South East, where prices decreased 0.5%, and Mid Sussex was lower than the 0.5% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Mid Sussex rose by £18,000 – putting the area 40th among the South East’s 64 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Dover, where property prices increased on average by 8.9%, to £330,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Windsor and Maidenhead lost 1.4% of their value, giving an average price of £532,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Mid Sussex spent an average of £346,000 on their property – £13,000 more than a year ago, and £68,000 more than in April 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £544,000 on average in April – 57.1% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Mid Sussex in April – they dropped 1.7% in price, to £383,003 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 3%.

Among other types of property:

• Detached: down 1% monthly; up 4.7% annually; £791,083 average
• Semi-detached: down 1.2% monthly; up 4.3% annually; £496,504 average
• Flats: down 1% monthly; up 2.7% annually; £239,296 average

How do property prices in Mid Sussex compare?

Buyers paid 18.6% more than the average price in the South East (£392,000) in April for a property in Mid Sussex. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £286,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £679,000 on average, and 1.5 times the price as in Mid Sussex. Elmbridge properties cost 2.8 times the price as homes in Southampton (£245,000 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

• Mid Sussex: £464,677
• The South East:£391,766
• UK: £286,489

Annual growth to April

• Mid Sussex: +4%
• The South East: +3.5%
• UK: +3.5%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South East

• Dover: +8.9%
• Windsor and Maidenhead: -1.4%