House prices dropped slightly, by 0.5%, in Mid Devon in March, new figures show.

The drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 2.3% annual decline.

The average Mid Devon house price in March was £289,737. Land Registry figures show a 0.5% decrease on February.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South West, where prices increased 0.2%, and Mid Devon was lower than the 0.7% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Mid Devon fell by £6,800 – putting the area 22nd among the South West’s 26 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Stroud, where property prices increased on average by 9.8%, to £357,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in the Forest of Dean lost 5.5% of their value, giving an average price of £290,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Mid Devon spent an average of £231,500 on their property – £5,000 less than a year ago, but £45,400 more than in March 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £323,700 on average in March – 39.9% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Mid Devon in March – they dropped 0.7% in price, to £227,113 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 2.3%.

Among other types of property:

  • Detached: down 0.3% monthly; down 2.5% annually; £429,119 average
  • Semi-detached: down 0.3% monthly; down 1% annually; £282,351 average
  • Flats: down 0.6% monthly; down 4.3% annually; £149,037 average

How do property prices in Mid Devon compare?

Buyers paid 8.4% less than the average price in the South West (£316,000) in March for a property in Mid Devon. Across the South West, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost is £283,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £496,000 on average, and 1.7 times the price as in Mid Devon. Cotswold properties cost 2.2 times the price as homes in Plymouth (£221,000 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 March

  • Mid Devon: £289,737
  • The South West: £316,262
  • UK: £282,776

Annual change to March

  • Mid Devon: -2.3%
  • The South West: +0.5%
  • UK: +1.8%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South West

  • Stroud: +9.8%
  • The Forest of Dean: -5.5%