HOUSE prices dropped by 1 per cent in Reading in January, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 3.5 per cent annual growth.

The average Reading house price in January was £300,007, Land Registry figures show – a 1 per cent decrease on December.

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Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the South East, where prices increased 0.1 per cent, and Reading underperformed compared to the 0.5 per cent drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Reading rose by £10,000 – putting the area 52nd among the South East’s 70 local authorities for annual growth.

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The best annual growth in the region was in the Isle of Wight, where property prices increased on average by 14.7 per cent, to £256,000.

At the other end of the scale, properties in Horsham lost 0.8 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £375,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of flats fared worst in Reading in January – they dropped 1.6 per cent in price, to £211,837 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 0.7 per cent.

Among other types of property:

  • Detached: down 0.7 per cent monthly; up 5.8 per cent annually; £624,149 average
  • Semi-detached: down 0.3 per cent monthly; up 4.9 per cent annually; £385,303 average
  • Terraced: down 0.9 per cent monthly; up 4.4 per cent annually; £302,874 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Reading spent an average of £267,700 on their property – £7,400 more than a year ago, and £11,400 more than in December 2015.

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By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £339,000 on average in January – 26.6 per cent more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Reading compare?

Buyers paid 12.4 per cent less than the average price in the South East (£342,000) in January for a property in Reading. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £249,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £644,000 on average, and 2.1 times as much as in Reading. Elmbridge properties cost three times as much as homes in Southampton (£213,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average January sale price of £1.3 million could buy 14 properties in Blaenau Gwent (average £93,000).

Factfile

Average property price in January

Reading: £300,007

The South East: £342,420

UK: £249,309

Annual growth to January

Reading: +3.5 per cent

The South East: +6.4 per cent

UK: +7.5 per cent

Best and worst annual growth in the South East

The Isle of Wight: +14.7 per cent

Horsham: -0.8 per cent