Worthing house prices held steady in September

House prices remained steady in Worthing in September, new figures show.

The lack of movement maintains the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 14.6% over the last year.

The average Worthing house price in September was £362,551, Land Registry figures show – largely unchanged from August.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the South East, where prices decreased 0.2%.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Worthing rose by £46,000 – putting the area 17th 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 16.8%, to £324,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Gravesham gained 7.9% in value, giving an average price of £334,000.

An imbalance between supply and demand for properties saw house prices climb across the UK throughout the pandemic.

But typical property values stalled across the UK between August and September, which caused annual growth to slow.

Andy Sommerville, director at property data provider Search Acumen said the latest data is further evidence of "a turning tide for house prices".

The figures are yet to reflect the full impact of the mini-budget, announced towards the end of September, which sparked volatitility in the mortgage market and saw interest rates on new agreements soar.

Nicky Stevenson, managing director at estate agent group Fine and Country said: “Annual house price growth slowed in September against a backdrop of rising interest rates and shrinking disposable incomes."

“All eyes will now turn to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement, which is expected to include both tax rises and spending cuts," he added.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Worthing spent an average of £289,000 on their property – £35,000 more than a year ago, and £68,000 more than in September 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £426,000 on average in September – 47.2% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of flats saw the biggest fall in property prices Worthing in September – they dropped 0.5% in price, to £229,485 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 11.4%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 0.3% monthly; up 15.9% annually; £677,363 averageSemi-detached: up 0.3% monthly; up 16.6% annually; £482,454 averageTerraced: up 0.1% monthly; up 16.9% annually; £387,414 average

How do property prices in Worthing compare?

Buyers paid 10.2% less than the average price in the South East (£404,000) in September for a property in Worthing. Across the South East, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £295,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £744,000 on average, and 2.1 times as much as more than in Worthing. Elmbridge properties cost three times as much as homes in Southampton (£249,000 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 September

Worthing: £362,551The South East:£403,515UK: £294,559

Annual growth to September

Worthing: +14.6%The South East: +10.3%UK: +9.5%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South East

Dover: +16.8%Gravesham: +7.9%