House prices increased slightly in Watford in August, new figures show.

​The ​boost ​contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area ​achieve 2.9 per cent annual growth​.

The average Watford house price in August was £358,200, Land Registry figures show​ – a £21,492 (0.6 per cent) increase on July.

Over the month, the picture was ​similar to that across the East of England, where prices ​increased 0.8 per cent​, and Watford underperformed compared to the 0.7 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Watford ​​rose by £10,000 – putting the ​area 14th among the East of England’s 47 local authorities for annual growth.

Winners and Losers

Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Watford in August – they increased 1 per cent (£47,367), to £476,375 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 4.9 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 0.8 per cent monthly; up 5.2 per cent annually; £845,178 average

Flats: remained level over the month; up 0.1 per cent annually; £262,514 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Watford spent an average of £​317,600 on their property – ​£7,000 more than a year ago, ​and ​£45,300 more than in August 2015.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £​412,200 on average in August​ – 29.8 per cent more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Watford compare?

Buyers paid 20.8 per cent more than the average price in the East of England (£296,000) in August for a property in Watford. Across the East of England, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £239,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans – £522,000 on average, and 1.5 times as much as in Watford. St Albans properties cost three times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£174,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average August sale price of £1.4 million could buy 15 properties in Burnley (average £91,000).

Factfile

Average property price in August

Watford: £358,200

The East of England: £296,411UK: £239,196

Annual growth to August

Watford: +2.9%

The East of England: +2.0%

UK: +2.5%

Best and worst annual growth in the East of England

South Norfolk: +5.9%

Babergh: -4.1%