House prices dropped by 1.6 per cent – more than the average for the East of England – in Watford in November, new figures show.

The drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 3.9 per cent annual decline.

The average Watford house price in November was £387,861, Land Registry figures show – a 1.6 per cent decrease on October.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the East of England, where prices decreased 0.2 per cent, and Watford was lower than the 0.8 per cent drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Watford fell by £16,000 – putting the area 28th among the East of England’s 45 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Maldon, where property prices increased on average by 6.1 per cent, to £442,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Stevenage lost 9% of their value, giving an average price of £322,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Watford spent an average of £342,000 on their property – £14,000 less than a year ago, but £27,000 more than in November 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £449,000 on average in November – 31.4 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Watford in November – they dropped 2.4% in price, to £941,707 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 4.4%.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: down 2 per cent monthly; down 3.8 per cent annually; £528,298 average

Terraced: down 2.1 per cent monthly; down 4.7 per cent annually; £415,866 average

Flats: down 0.7 per cent monthly; down 3.2 per cent annually; £272,915 average

How do property prices in Watford compare?

Buyers paid 11.9% more than the average price in the East of England (£347,000) in November for a property in Watford. Across the East of England, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £285,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans – £577,000 on average, and 1.5 times the price as in Watford. St Albans properties cost 2.7 times the price as homes in Great Yarmouth (£213,000 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 November

Watford: £387,861

The East of England: £346,659

UK: £284,950

Annual change to November

Watford: -3.9 per cent

The East of England: -3.3 per cent

UK: -2.1 per cent

Highest and lowest annual growth in the East of England

Maldon: +6.1 per cent

Stevenage: -9 per cent