House prices increased by 4.6 per cent in Watford in May, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 6.4 per cent annual growth.

The average Watford house price in May was £382,692, Land Registry figures show – a 4.6 per cent increase on April.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across the East of England, where prices decreased 1 per cent, and Watford outperformed the 0.9 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Watford rose by £23,000 – putting the area 37th among the East of England’s 50 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Great Yarmouth, where property prices increased on average by 15.6 per cent, to £197,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in East Cambridgeshire gained 1 per cent in value, giving an average price of £285,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of flats saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Watford in May – they increased 5 per cent, to £279,796 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 4.6 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 4.5 per cent monthly; up 6.5 per cent annually; £903,071 average.

Semi-detached: up 4.4 per cent monthly; up 7.5 per cent annually; £507,506 average.

Terraced: up 4.5 per cent monthly; up 7.8 per cent annually; £406,024 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Watford spent an average of £340,000 on their property – £20,000 more than a year ago, and £39,000 more than in May 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £440,000 on average in May – 29.5 per cent more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Watford compare?

Buyers paid 23.4 per cent more than the average price in the East of England (£310,000) in May for a property in Watford. Across the East of England, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £255,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in Three Rivers – £547,000 on average, and 1.4 times as much as in Watford. Three Rivers properties cost 2.8 times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£197,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average May sale price of £1.2 million could buy 12 properties in Burnley (average £100,000).

Factfile

Average property price in May

Watford: £382,692

The East of England: £310,200

UK: £254,624

Annual growth to May

Watford: +6.4 per cent

The East of England: +6.9 per cent

UK: +10 per cent

Best and worst annual growth in the East of England

Great Yarmouth: +15.6 per cent

East Cambridgeshire: +1.0 per cent