HOUSE prices increased by 3.3% in Winchester in July, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 15.1% annual growth.

The average Winchester house price in July was £470,583, Land Registry figures show – a 3.3% increase on June.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across the South East, where prices decreased 1.3%, and Winchester outperformed the 3.7% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Winchester rose by £62,000 – putting the area fifth 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 23.6%, to £263,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Swale gained 1% in value, giving an average price of £259,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Winchester in July – they increased 3.6%, to £397,703 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 15.7%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 3% monthly; up 15.7% annually; £760,697 average

Semi-detached: up 3.5% monthly; up 15.8% annually; £467,405 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Winchester spent an average of £354,000 on their property – £44,000 more than a year ago, and £61,000 more than in July 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £539,000 on average in July – 52.0% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Winchester compare?

Buyers paid 32.8% more than the average price in the South East (£354,000) in July for a property in Winchester. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £256,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £687,000 on average, and 1.5 times as much as in Winchester. Elmbridge properties cost 3.2 times as much as homes in Southampton (£217,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average July sale price of £1.3 million could buy 13 properties in Burnley (average £101,000).