House prices increased slightly, by 0.1%, in Waverley in December, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 12.1% over the last year.

The average Waverley house price in December was £579,456, Land Registry figures show – a 0.1% increase on November.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the South East, where prices increased 0.4%, and Waverley was above the 0.4% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Waverley rose by £63,000 – putting the area 17th among the South East’s 64 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Maidstone, where property prices increased on average by 18.6%, to £372,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Tandridge gained 3.3% in value, giving an average price of £530,000.

The average UK house price was £294,000 in December 2022, which was £26,000 higher than 12 months earlier.

It meant prices increased by 9.8% annually in December, slowing from 10.6% annual growth in November, according to the Office for National Statistics.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Waverley spent an average of £422,000 on their property – £48,000 more than a year ago, and £84,000 more than in December 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £682,000 on average in December – 61.6% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of flats saw the biggest rise in property prices in Waverley in December – they increased 0.5%, to £286,124 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 9.8%.

Among other types of property:

How do property prices in Waverley compare?

Buyers paid 43.3% more than the average price in the South East (£404,000) in December for a property in Waverley. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £294,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £721,000 on average, and 1.2 times as much as more than in Waverley. Elmbridge properties cost 2.8 times as much as homes in Gosport (£259,000 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 December

Annual growth to December

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South East