House prices increased by 2.8% – more than the average for the East of England – in Southend in November, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 12.8% over the last year.

The average Southend house price in November was £358,875, Land Registry figures show – a 2.8% increase on October.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the East of England, where prices increased 0.6%, and Southend was above the 0.3% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Southend rose by £41,000 – putting the area 11th among the East of England’s 45 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Cambridge, where property prices increased on average by 16.2%, to £544,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Hertsmere gained 3% in value, giving an average price of £537,000.

The average UK house price edged down to £295,000 in November 2022, from the previous month's record high of £296,000.

Property prices increased by 10.3% in the year to November, slowing from 12.4% in October.

Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, which represents estate agents, said: "In November, our agents reported a market that was on the cusp of seeing purchasing power handed back to buyers which was a trend we hadn’t seen in months."

And Roger Evans, director of home finance distribution at Gatehouse Bank, said: “The property market is slowly becoming more favourable for buyers in some areas as rates stabilise a little following the turbulence of 2022.”

First steps on the property ladder First-time buyers in Southend spent an average of £299,000 on their property – £33,000 more than a year ago, and £63,000 more than in November 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £418,000 on average in November – 39.4% more than first-time buyers.

Property types Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Southend in November – they increased 3%, to £461,847 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 14.2%.

Among other types of property: Detached: up 2.8% monthly; up 12.9% annually; £690,703 average Terraced: up 2.9% monthly; up 14.7% annually; £360,227 average Flats: up 2.7% monthly; up 10.1% annually; £226,061 average How do property prices in Southend compare?

Buyers paid 1.7% less than the average price in the East of England (£365,000) in November for a property in Southend. Across the East of England, property prices are roughly the same as those across the UK, where the average cost £295,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans – £620,000 on average, and 1.7 times as much as more than in Southend. St Albans properties cost 2.7 times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£231,000 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 November

Southend:

£358,875

The East of England: £365,144

UK: £294,910

Annual growth to November Southend: +12.8%

The East of England: +10.2%

UK: +10.3%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the East of England Cambridge: +16.2% Hertsmere: +3%