Mid Sussex house prices increased slightly in April

House prices increased slightly, by 0.5%, in Mid Sussex in April, new figures show. The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 16.9% over the last year. An imbalance between supply and demand for properties has remained the primary reason behind climbing house prices across the UK throughout the pandemic. The need for larger deposits and constraints on accessing mortgages have pushed homeownership further out of reach for many first-time buyers – despite Government figures showing 50% of renters would be able to afford the monthly payments. In a recent major speech in Blackpool, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a “comprehensive review” of the mortgage market would take place in a bid to help more people onto the property ladder. The average Mid Sussex house price in April was £457,384, Land Registry figures show – a 0.5% increase on March. Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South East, where prices decreased 0.3%, but Mid Sussex was lower than the 1.1% rise for the UK as a whole. Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Mid Sussex rose by £66,000 – putting the area second among the South East’s 64 local authorities with price data for annual growth. The highest annual growth in the region was in Milton Keynes, where property prices increased on average by 18.4%, to £323,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Slough gained just 3.8% in value, giving an average price of £304,000. First steps on the property ladder First-time buyers in Mid Sussex spent an average of £342,000 on their property – £47,000 more than a year ago, and £76,000 more than in April 2017. By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £534,000 on average in April – 55.9% more than first-time buyers. Property types Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Mid Sussex in April – they increased 0.5%, to £377,352 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 15.2%. Among other types of property: Detached: up 0.5% monthly; up 19.3% annually; £773,712 averageSemi-detached: up 0.5% monthly; up 18.7% annually; £488,449 averageFlats: up 0.3% monthly; up 13% annually; £238,755 average How do property prices in Mid Sussex compare? Buyers paid 19.5% more than the average price in the South East (£383,000) in April for a property in Mid Sussex. Across the South East, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £281,000. The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £667,000 on average, and 1.5 times as much as more than in Mid Sussex. Elmbridge properties cost 2.8 times as much as homes in Southampton (£240,000 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 April Mid Sussex: £457,384The South East:£382,791UK: £281,161 Annual growth to April Mid Sussex: +16.9%The South East: +11.9%UK: +12.4% Highest and lowest annual growth in the South East Milton Keynes: +18.4%Slough: +3.8%