South Gloucestershire house prices dropped slightly in February

House prices dropped slightly, by 0.5%, in South Gloucestershire in February, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 10.6% annual growth.

The average South Gloucestershire house price in February was £357,923, Land Registry figures show – a 0.5% decrease on January.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across the South West, where prices decreased 1.2%, and South Gloucestershire outperformed the 1% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in South Gloucestershire rose by £34,000 – putting the area fifth among the South West’s 26 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in the Forest of Dean, where property prices increased on average by 14.2%, to £335,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in South Hams gained just 0.8% in value, giving an average price of £392,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of terraced houses fared worst in South Gloucestershire in February – they dropped 0.8% in price, to £299,697 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 10.6%.

Among other types of property:

• Detached: down 0.1% monthly; up 11% annually; £597,336 average
• Semi-detached: down 0.5% monthly; up 10.9% annually; £383,694 average
• Flats: down 0.6% monthly; up 8.7% annually; £198,367 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in South Gloucestershire spent an average of £302,000 on their property – £29,000 more than a year ago, and £74,000 more than in February 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £403,000 on average in February – 33.4% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in South Gloucestershire compare?

Buyers paid 9.6% more than the average price in the South West (£327,000) in February for a property in South Gloucestershire. Across the South West, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £288,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £495,000 on average, and 1.4 times as much as more than in South Gloucestershire. Cotswold properties cost 2.2 times as much as homes in Plymouth (£221,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in 160.

Factfile

Average property price in February

• South Gloucestershire: £357,923
• The South West:£326,616
• UK: £287,506

Annual growth to February

• South Gloucestershire: +10.6%
• The South West: +5.8%
• UK: +5.5%

Best and worst annual growth in the South West

• The Forest of Dean: +14.2%
• South Hams: +0.8%