HOUSE prices have dropped by 0.8 per cent- less than the average across the East of England- in Braintree, new figures reveal.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 4.6 per cent annual growth.

The average Braintree house price in April was £296,716, Land Registry figures show – a 0.8 per cent decrease on March.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the East of England, where prices increased 0.3 per cent, and Braintree outperformed the 1.9 per cent drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Braintree rose by £13,000 – putting the area 43rd among the East of England’s 50 local authorities for annual growth.

Owners of terraced houses fared worst in Braintree as they dropped 0.9 per cent in price to £255,747 on average.

But over the last year, prices rose by 5 per cent.

Among other types of property:

  • Detached: down 0.8% monthly; up 5.4% annually; £499,068 average
  • Semi-detached: down 0.7% monthly; up 4.9% annually; £306,666 average
  • Flats: down 0.7% monthly; up 1.9% annually; £162,983 average

First-time buyers spent an average of £247,000 on their property- £10,000 more than a year ago, and £40,000 more than in April 2016.

Buyers paid 5.5 per cent less than the average price in the East of England, £314,000, in April for a property in Braintree.

Across the East of England, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £251,000.

The average property price in the town in April was £296,716 and the annual growth is 4.6 per cent.

The best growth in the region was in Tendring, where property prices increased on average by 16.5 per cent, to £254,000.

At the other end of the scale, properties in Welwyn Hatfield gained 2 per cent in value, giving an average price of £404,000.