Reading house prices increased in August

​But the ​boost ​does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area ​suffer a 3.5 per cent annual decline​.

The average Reading house price in August was £284,946, Land Registry figures show​ – a 1.1 per cent increase on July.

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Over the month, the picture was ​similar to that across the South East, where prices ​increased 1.6 per cent​, but Reading outperformed the 0.7 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Reading ​​remained level – putting the ​area 66th among the South East’s 67 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in West Oxfordshire, where properties increased on average by 7.9 per cent, to £343,000. ​

At the other end of the scale, properties in Surrey Heath dropped 3.8 per cent in value, giving an average price of £382,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Reading in August – they increased 1.7 per cent, to £582,696 on average– but over the last year, prices dropped by 2.3 per cent.

Among other types of property:

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Semi-detached: up 1.4 per cent monthly; down 1.8 per cent annually; £364,529 average

Terraced: up 1.3 per cent monthly; down 2.6 per cent annually; £286,943 average

Flats: up 0.3 per cent monthly; down 6.0 per cent annually; £203,385 average

​First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Reading spent an average of £​255,000 on their property – ​£10,000 less than a year ago, ​and ​£17,000 more than in August 2015.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £​321,000 on average in August​ – 25.7 per cent more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Reading compare?

​Buyers paid 14.2 per cent less than the average price in the South East (£332,000) in August for a property in Reading.

Across the South East, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £239,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £607,000 on average, and 2.1 times as much as in Reading.

Elmbridge properties cost 2.9 times as much as homes in Southampton (£210,000 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

Reading: £284,946

The South East: £332,147

UK: £239,196

Annual growth to August

Reading: -3.5 per cent

The South East: +2.9 per cent

UK: +2.5 per cent

Best and worst annual growth in the South East

West Oxfordshire: +7.9 per cent

Surrey Heath: -3.8 per cent