House prices dropped by 4 per cent – more than the average for the East of England – in St Albans in December, new figures show.

The drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 6.2 per cent annual decline.

The average St Albans house price in December was £553,372, Land Registry figures show – a 4 per cent decrease on November.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the East of England, where prices decreased 0.5%, and St Albans was lower than the 0.1 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in St Albans fell by £36,000 – putting the area 38th 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 3.8 per cent, to £357,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Welwyn Hatfield lost 9.5 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £400,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in St Albans spent an average of £417,000 on their property – £27,000 less than a year ago, but £39,000 more than in December 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £665,000 on average in December – 59.5 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in St Albans in December – they dropped 4.9 per cent in price, to £1,085,459 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 7.1 per cent.

Among other types of property:

  • Semi-detached: down 3.7 per cent monthly; down 4.8 per cent annually; £677,041 average
  • Terraced: down 3.7 per cent monthly; down 5.1 per cent annually; £494,239 average
  • Flats: down 3.6 per cent monthly; down 7.7 per cent annually; £295,230 average

How do property prices in St Albans compare?

Buyers paid 61.6 per cent more than the average price in the East of England (£342,000) in December for a property in St Albans. Across the East of England, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £285,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in Three Rivers – £583,000 on average, and 5 per cent in St Albans. Three Rivers properties cost 2.8 times the price as homes in Great Yarmouth (£212,000 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 December

  • St Albans: £553,372
  • The East of England: £342,489
  • UK: £284,691

Annual change to December

  • St Albans: -6.2 per cent
  • The East of England: -3.8 per cent
  • UK: -1.4 per cent

Highest and lowest annual growth in the East of England

  • East Cambridgeshire: +3.8 per cent
  • Welwyn Hatfield: -9.5 per cent