House prices increased by 1.4% – more than the average for the South East – in Waverley in May, new figures show.

But the rise does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 0.1% annual decline.

The average Waverley house price in May was £519,970. Land Registry figures show a 1.4% increase on April.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South East, where prices increased 0.3%, and Waverley was above the 1.2% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Waverley fell by £400 – putting the area 26th among the South East’s 64 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in the Vale of White Horse, where property prices increased on average by 9.8%, to £425,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Epsom and Ewell lost 10.2% of their value, giving an average price of £493,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Waverley spent an average of £380,140 on their property – £730 less than a year ago, but £55,860 more than in May 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £610,100 on average in May – 60.5% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Waverley in May – they increased 1.7%, to £863,821 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 0.4%.

Among other types of property:

How do property prices in Waverley compare?

Buyers paid 38.4% more than the average price in the South East (£376,000) in May for a property in Waverley. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £285,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £625,000 on average, and 1.2 times the price as in Waverley. Elmbridge properties cost 2.6 times the price as homes in Southampton (£241,000 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

Annual change to May

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South East