House prices increased by 3.6% in Mid Devon in December, new figures show.

But the rise does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 0.6% annual decline.

The average Mid Devon house price in December was £314,822, Land Registry figures show – a 3.6% increase on November.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South West, where prices decreased 0.5%, and Mid Devon was above the 0.1% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Mid Devon fell by £2,000 – putting the area eighth among the South West’s 26 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in South Hams, where property prices increased on average by 5.6%, to £449,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Torridge lost 8.9% of their value, giving an average price of £303,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Mid Devon spent an average of £250,200 on their property – £2,200 less than a year ago, but £60,500 more than in December 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £353,200 on average in December – 41.1% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Mid Devon in December – they increased 4.1%, to £308,862 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 0.7%.

Among other types of property:

How do property prices in Mid Devon compare?

Buyers paid 1.3% less than the average price in the South West (£319,000) in December for a property in Mid Devon. Across the South West, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost is £285,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £486,000 on average, and 1.5 times the price as in Mid Devon. Cotswold properties cost 2.2 times the price as homes in Plymouth (£218,000 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 December

Annual change to December

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South West