House prices increased slightly, by 0.1 per cent, in St Albans in January, new figures show.

The rise does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 3.8 per cent annual decline.

The average St Albans house price in January was £553,806, Land Registry figures show – a 0.1 per cent increase on December.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the East of England, where prices increased 1.2 per cent, and St Albans was lower than the 0.5% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in St Albans fell by £22,000 – putting the area 30th among the East of England’s 45 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in East Cambridgeshire, where property prices increased on average by 9.1 per cent, to £352,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Ipswich lost 11.3 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £213,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in St Albans spent an average of £419,000 on their property – £17,000 less than a year ago, but £40,000 more than in January 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £662,000 on average in January – 57.8 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in St Albans in January – they increased 0.2 per cent, to £494,450 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 2.9%.

Among other types of property:

  • Detached: up 0.1% monthly; down 4.3% annually; £1,079,498 average
  • Semi-detached: up 0.2% monthly; down 2.8% annually; £670,219 average
  • Flats: down 0.2% monthly; down 5% annually; £300,393 average

How do property prices in St Albans compare?

Buyers paid 64.6 per cent more than the average price in the East of England (£337,000) in January for a property in St Albans. Across the East of England, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost is £282,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in Three Rivers – £558,000 on average, and 1 per cent in St Albans. Three Rivers properties cost 2.7 times the price as homes in Great Yarmouth (£210,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, at £1.2 million.

Factfile

Average property price in January

St Albans: £553,806

The East of England: £336,502

UK: £281,913

Annual change to January

St Albans: -3.8%

The East of England: -2.2%

UK: -0.6%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the East of England

East Cambridgeshire: +9.1%

Ipswich: -11.3%