The average Watford home now costs £390,000 as the most recent figures show a fall in value.

The drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 5.4% annual decline.

The average price in February was £390,019, Land Registry figures show – a 1.1% decrease on January.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the East of England, where prices increased 1.7%, and Watford was lower than the 0.4% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Watford fell by £22,000 – putting the area 36th among the East of England’s 45 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Babergh, where property prices increased on average by 7.6%, to £349,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Ipswich lost 10.1% of their value, giving an average price of £213,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Watford spent an average of £346,000 on their property – £19,000 less than a year ago, but £38,000 more than in February 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £448,000 on average in February – 29.5% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Watford in February – they dropped 2% in price, to £916,673 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 6.5%.

Among other types of property:

  • Semi-detached: down 1.4% monthly; down 5.4% annually; £524,839 average
  • Terraced: down 1.2% monthly; down 6.2% annually; £414,134 average
  • Flats: down 0.8% monthly; down 4.5% annually; £281,044 average

How do property prices in Watford compare?

Buyers paid 15% more than the average price in the East of England (£339,000) in February 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 £281,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans – £589,000 on average, and 1.5 times the price as in Watford. St Albans properties cost 2.9 times the price as homes in Great Yarmouth (£206,000 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 February:

  • Watford: £390,019
  • The East of England: £339,144
  • UK: £280,660

Annual change to February:

  • Watford: -5.4%
  • The East of England: -1.6%
  • UK: -0.2%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the East of England:

  • Babergh: +7.6%
  • Ipswich: -10.1%