House prices rose by 2.3 per cent in Brighton and Hove in June, more than the average for the south east, new figures show.
But the increase does not reverse the longer-term trend, with property prices in the area falling by 2.7 per cent over the past year.
The average Brighton and Hove house price in June was £424,988, according to Land Registry figures, a 2.3 per cent increase on May.
Over the month, the picture was different to that across the south east, where prices went up by 1 per cent.
Nationally, property prices in Brighton and Hove were going up faster than the 0.5 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.
Over the past year, the average sale price of property in Brighton and Hove fell by £12,000.
This put the area 54th for annual growth in prices out of 64 local authorities in the south east.
The highest annual growth in the region was in Oxford, where property prices increased on average by 10.3 per cent, to £470,000.
At the other end of the scale, properties in Epsom and Ewell lost 7.7 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £502,000.
First-time buyers in Brighton and Hove spent an average of £372,000 on their property – £10,000 less than a year ago but £50,000 more than in June 2019.
By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £481,000 on average in June – 29.4 per cent more than first-time buyers.
Terraced house prices went up by the most in Brighton and Hove in June, increasing by 2.6 per cent, to £473,734 on average. Over the past year, prices dropped by 2.2 per cent.
Among other types of property
- Detached: up 2.1 per cent monthly but down 5 per cent annually, with an average price of £792,472
- Semi-detached: up 2.1 per cent monthly but down 3.4 per cent annually, with an average price of £522,764
- Flats: up 2.3 per cent monthly but down 2.2 per cent annually, with an average price of £334,988
Buyers paid 11.1 per cent more than the average price in the south east (£383,000) in June for a property in Brighton and Hove.
Across the south east, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £288,000.
The most expensive properties in the south east were in Elmbridge – £652,000 on average, and 1.5 times the price as in Brighton and Hove.
Elmbridge properties cost 2.7 times the price of homes in Gosport (£243,000 average) at the other end of the scale.
Factfile
Average property price in June
- Brighton and Hove £424,988
- South east £382,522
- UK £287,924
Annual change to June
- Brighton and Hove -2.7 per cent
- South east +2 per cent
- UK +2.7 per cent
Highest and lowest annual growth in the south east
- Oxford +10.3 per cent
- Epsom and Ewell -7.7 per cent
Yet there’s hundreds of properties listed for sale in the city, most at unrealistic asking prices. It appears agents try it on with a pie-in-the-sky valuation, reduce after a month or less then leave the property gathering online dust until the listing expires. Quality properties in popular areas will always sell well unless blatantly overpriced, most other properties 10% + overvalued with little chance of securing a sale.
Another sign that building affordable and social homes in Brighton is going to be so important moving forward. Reading some stats the other day after talking to a fellow on here. LA building accounts for only 5% of the total built. Surely we can do better than that?