House prices dropped slightly, by 0.3%, in Bath and North East Somerset in June, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 13.4% over the last year.

The average Bath and North East Somerset house price in June was £425,664, Land Registry figures show – a 0.3% decrease on May.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South West, where prices increased 0.5%, and Bath and North East Somerset was lower than the 1% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Bath and North East Somerset rose by £50,000 – putting the area 13th among the South West’s 29 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Mid Devon, where property prices increased on average by 16.9%, to £306,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Cheltenham gained 5.9% in value, giving an average price of £319,000.

An imbalance between supply and demand for properties has remained the primary reason behind climbing house prices across the UK throughout the pandemic.

But activity is starting to slow, with soaring inflation putting household budgets under pressure.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Bath and North East Somerset spent an average of £367,000 on their property – £42,000 more than a year ago, and £86,000 more than in June 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £465,000 on average in June – 26.6% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest fall in property prices Bath and North East Somerset in June – they dropped 0.9% in price, to £729,036 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 15.3%.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached:
Terraced:
Flats:

How do property prices in Bath and North East Somerset compare?

Buyers paid 32.1% more than the average price in the South West (£322,000) in June for a property in Bath and North East Somerset. Across the South West, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £286,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £472,000 on average, and 1.1 times as much as more than in Bath and North East Somerset. Cotswold properties cost 2.1 times as much as homes in Plymouth (£223,000 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 June

  • Bath and North East Somerset: £425,664
  • The South West:£322,329
  • UK: £286,397

Annual growth to June

  • Bath and North East Somerset: +13.4%
  • The South West: +8%
  • UK: +7.8%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South West

  • Mid Devon: +16.9%
  • Cheltenham: +5.9%