House prices dropped by 1.4 per cent – more than the average for the East of England – in Southend in August, new figures show.

The drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 3.5 per cent annual decline.

The average Southend house price in August was £324,289, Land Registry figures show – a 1.4 per cent decrease on July.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the East of England, where prices decreased 0.7 per cent, and Southend 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 Southend fell by £12,000 – putting the area 42nd among the East of England’s 45 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Stevenage, where property prices increased on average by 5.1 per cent, to £347,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Harlow lost 4.4 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £310,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Southend spent an average of £270,000 on their property – £10,000 less than a year ago, but £30,000 more than in August 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £378,000 on average in August – 39.9 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of flats saw the biggest fall in property prices in Southend in August – they dropped 1.8 per cent in price, to £204,859 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 4 per cent.

Among other types of property:

  • Detached: down 1.2 per cent monthly; down 2.8 per cent annually; £625,547 average
  • Semi-detached: down 1 per cent monthly; down 3 per cent annually; £418,009 average
  • Terraced: down 1.2 per cent monthly; down 4.1 per cent annually; £323,138 average

How do property prices in Southend compare?

Buyers paid 7.5 per cent less than the average price in the East of England (£351,000) in August for a property in Southend. Across the East of England, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £291,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in Three Rivers – £595,000 on average, and 1.8 times the price as in Southend. Three Rivers properties cost 2.7 times the price as homes in Great Yarmouth (£216,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea (£1.4 million).

Average property price in August

Southend: £324,289

The East of England: £350,728

UK: £291,044

Annual change to August

Southend: -3.5 per cent 

The East of England: -1.6 per cent 

UK: +0.2 per cent