Hastings house prices dropped more than South East average in May

House prices dropped by 1.2% – more than the average for the South East – in Hastings in May, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 6.4% over the last year.

The average Hastings house price in May was £281,832, Land Registry figures show – a 1.2% decrease on April.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the South East, where prices decreased 0.9%, and Hastings was lower than the UK as a whole, where prices did not change.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Hastings rose by £17,000 – putting the area sixth among the South East’s 64 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Winchester, where property prices increased on average by 10%, to £518,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Elmbridge lost 4.7% of their value, giving an average price of £665,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Hastings spent an average of £251,000 on their property – £14,000 more than a year ago, and £60,000 more than in May 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £313,000 on average in May – 24.6% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Hastings in May – they dropped 1.6% in price, to £545,915 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 6.6%.

Among other types of property:

How do property prices in Hastings compare?

Buyers paid 27.5% less than the average price in the South East (£389,000) in May for a property in Hastings. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £286,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £665,000 on average, and 2.4 times the price as in Hastings. Elmbridge properties cost 2.7 times the price as homes in Southampton (£243,000 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 May

• Hastings: £281,832
• The South East:£388,873
• UK: £285,861

Annual growth to May

• Hastings: +6.4%
• The South East: +1.5%
• UK: +1.9%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South East

• Winchester: +10%
• Elmbridge: -4.7%