House prices in Bristol drop for the first time in 10 months - but still mark annual growth

House prices dropped slightly, by 0.3%, in Bristol 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 9.4% over the last year.

It is the first time prices have dropped since August last year, when they went down 1.2%.

The average Bristol house price in June was £343,292, 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 Bristol was lower than the 1% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Bristol rose by £29,000 – putting the area 27th 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 Bristol spent an average of £311,000 on their property – £26,000 more than a year ago, and £69,000 more than in June 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £383,000 on average in June – 22.9% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest fall in property prices Bristol in June – they dropped 1.1% in price, to £665,391 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 11.8%.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: down 0.5% monthly; up 11.6% annually; £432,353 average Terraced: down 0.1% monthly; up 10.2% annually; £360,714 average Flats: down 0.3% monthly; up 5.9% annually; £256,283 average

How do property prices in Bristol compare?

Buyers paid 6.5% more than the average price in the South West (£322,000) in June for a property in Bristol. Across the South West, property prices are higher than 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 1.4 times as much as more than in Bristol. 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

Bristol: £343,292 The South West :£322,329 UK: £286,397

Annual growth to June

Bristol: +9.4% The South West: +8% UK: +7.8%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South West

Mid Devon: +16.9% Cheltenham: +5.9%