HOUSE prices dropped by 2.5% per cent – more than the average for the South East – in Winchester in April, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 3.1% annual growth.

The average Winchester house price in April was £431,534, Land Registry figures show – a 2.5% decrease on March.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the South East, where prices decreased 2.3%, and Winchester underperformed compared to the 1.9% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Winchester rose by £13,000 – putting the area 62nd among the South East’s 70 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Hastings, where property prices increased on average by 14.6%, to £245,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in West Oxfordshire lost 3.2% of their value, giving an average price of £319,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of terraced houses fared worst in Winchester in April – they dropped 2.7% in price, to £362,979 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 3.4%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 2.5% monthly; up 3.4% annually; £700,004 average

Semi-detached: down 2.3% monthly; up 3.7% annually; £427,322 average

Flats: down 2.5% monthly; up 0.4% annually; £228,922 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Winchester spent an average of £325,800 on their property – £8,800 more than a year ago, and £27,600 more than in April 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £493,500 on average in April – 51.5% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Winchester compare?

Buyers paid 26.4% more than the average price in the South East (£341,000) in April for a property in Winchester. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £251,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £648,000 on average, and 1.5 times as much as in Winchester. Elmbridge properties cost three times as much as homes in Southampton (£218,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average April sale price of £1.1 million could buy 11 properties in East Ayrshire (average £105,000).