HOUSE prices increased slightly in the Braintree district in December, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 7.2 per cent annual growth.

The average Braintree house price in December was £298,180, Land Registry figures show – a 0.4 per cent increase on November.

Over the month, the picture was less good than that across the East of England, where prices increased 2.4 per cent, and the district underperformed compared to the 1.2 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Braintree rose by £20,000 – putting the area 13th among the East of England’s 50 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Breckland, in Norfolk, where property prices increased on average by 10.1 per cent, to £246,000.

At the other end of the scale, properties in Harlow lost 1.3 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £271,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of flats saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Braintree in December – they increased 0.8 per cent, to £164,305 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 3.8 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 0.2 per cent monthly and up 8.3 per cent annually to £501,729 on average.

Semi-detached: up 0.2 per cent monthly and up 7.2 per cent annually to £307,465 on average.

Terraced: up 0.7 per cent monthly and up eight per cent annually to £257,172 on average.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Braintree spent an average of £248,000 on their property – £16,000 more than a year ago, and £47,000 more than in November 2015.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £338,000 on average in December – 36.7 per cent more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Braintree compare?

Buyers paid 4.1 per cent less than the average price in the East of England (£311,000) in December for a property in Braintree. Across the East of England, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £252,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans – £530,000 on average, and 1.8 times as much as in Braintree. St Albans properties cost 2.8 times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£186,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average December sale price of £1.3 million could buy 13 properties in Burnley (average £98,000).

Factfile

Average property price in December

  • Braintree: £298,180
  • East of England: £310,912
  • UK: £251,500

Annual growth to December

  • Braintree: +7.2%
  • The East of England: +7%
  • UK: +8.5%

Best and worst annual growth in the East of England

  • Breckland (Norfolk): +10.1%
  • Harlow: -1.3%