House prices increased by two per cent – more than the average for the South East – in Buckinghamshire in January, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 8.1 per cent annual growth.

The average Buckinghamshire house price in January was £427,763, Land Registry figures show – a two per cent increase on December.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across the South East, where prices increased 0.1 per cent, and Buckinghamshire outperformed the 0.5 per cent drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Buckinghamshire rose by £32,000 – putting the area 18th among the South East’s 70 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in the Isle of Wight, where property prices increased on average by 14.7 per cent, to £256,000.

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At the other end of the scale, properties in Horsham lost 0.8 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £375,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Buckinghamshire in January – they increased 2.4 per cent, to £420,177 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 8.7 per cent.

Among other types of property

Detached: up 2.2 per cent monthly; up 9.9 per cent annually; £771,792 average

Terraced: up two  per cent monthly; up 8.8 per cent annually; £333,562 average

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Flats: up 0.9 per cent monthly; up 3.3 per cent annually; £228,484 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Buckinghamshire spent an average of £317,000 on their property – £21,000 more than a year ago, and £45,000 more than in December 2015.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £509,000 on average in January – 60.6 per cent more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Buckinghamshire compare?

Buyers paid 24.9 per cent more than the average price in the South East (£342,000) in January for a property in Buckinghamshire. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £249,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £644,000 on average, and 1.5 times as much as in Buckinghamshire. Elmbridge properties cost three times as much as homes in Southampton (£213,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average January sale price of £1.3 million could buy 14 properties in Blaenau Gwent (average £93,000).

Factfile

Average property price in January

Buckinghamshire: £427,763

The South East: £342,420

UK: £249,309

Annual growth to January

Buckinghamshire: +8.1 per cent

The South East: +6.4 per cent

UK: +7.5 per cent