Hastings house prices dropped more than South East average in August

House prices dropped by 3.1% – more than the average for the South East – in Hastings in August, new figures show.

The drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 10.4% annual decline – the worst in the South East.

The average Hastings house price in August was £261,075, Land Registry figures show – a 3.1% decrease on July.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South East, where prices decreased 0.1%, and Hastings was lower than the 0.3% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Hastings fell by £30,000 – putting the area bottom among the South East’s 64 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Oxford, where property prices increased on average by 6.8%, to £508,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Hastings spent an average of £232,000 on their property – £28,000 less than a year ago, but £42,000 more than in August 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £290,000 on average in August – 24.9% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of flats saw the biggest fall in property prices in Hastings in August – they dropped 3.5% in price, to £157,810 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 11.1%.

Among other types of property:

• Detached: down 3% monthly; down 9.4% annually; £506,084 average
• Semi-detached: down 2.8% monthly; down 9.8% annually; £349,060 average
• Terraced: down 3% monthly; down 10.8% annually; £267,457 average

How do property prices in Hastings compare?

Buyers paid 33.6% less than the average price in the South East (£393,000) in August for a property in Hastings. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £291,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £706,000 on average, and 2.7 times the price as in Hastings. Elmbridge properties cost 2.8 times the price as homes in Southampton (£249,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea (£1.4 million).

Factfile

Average property price in August

• Hastings: £261,075
• The South East:£393,417
• UK: £291,044

Annual change to August

• Hastings: -10.4%
• The South East: -0.6%
• UK: +0.2%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South East

• Oxford: +6.8%
• Hastings: -10.4%