North Somerset house prices increased in January

House prices increased by 2% in North Somerset in January, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 12.1% annual growth.

The average North Somerset house price in January was £316,755, Land Registry figures show – a 2% increase on December.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across the South West, where prices decreased 1.1%, and North Somerset outperformed the 0.4% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in North Somerset rose by £34,000 – putting the area 17th among the South West’s 29 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in North Devon, where property prices increased on average by 24.6%, to £331,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in the Forest of Dean gained just 6% in value, giving an average price of £283,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of flats saw the biggest improvement in property prices in North Somerset in January – they increased 2.3%, to £187,729 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 8.4%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 1.6% monthly; up 14.7% annually; £510,893 averageSemi-detached: up 2.1% monthly; up 12.8% annually; £330,393 averageTerraced: up 2.1% monthly; up 11% annually; £257,420 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in North Somerset spent an average of £257,000 on their property – £26,000 more than a year ago, and £55,000 more than in January 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £360,000 on average in January – 40.1% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in North Somerset compare?

Buyers paid 3% more than the average price in the South West (£307,000) in January for a property in North Somerset. Across the South West, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £274,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £467,000 on average, and 1.5 times as much as more than in North Somerset. Cotswold properties cost 2.3 times as much as homes in Plymouth (£206,000 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 January

North Somerset: £316,755The South West:£307,468UK: £273,762

Annual growth to January

North Somerset: +12.1%The South West: +10.9%UK: +9.6%

Best and worst annual growth in the South West

North Devon: +24.6%The Forest of Dean: +6%