House prices dropped by 0.4% – more than the average for the South West – in Bath and North East Somerset in July, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 0.4% over the last year.

The average Bath and North East Somerset house price in July was £432,703, Land Registry figures show – a 0.4% decrease on June.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the South West, where prices decreased 0.2%, and Bath and North East Somerset was lower than the 0.5% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Bath and North East Somerset rose by £1,700 – putting the area 13th among the South West’s 26 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in the Forest of Dean, where property prices increased on average by 5.9%, to £321,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in West Devon lost 3.1% of their value, giving an average price of £312,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Bath and North East Somerset spent an average of £371,900 on their property – £360 more than a year ago, and £76,570 more than in July 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £474,280 on average in July – 27.5% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of flats saw the biggest fall in property prices in Bath and North East Somerset in July – they dropped 1% in price, to £289,717 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 0.5%.

Among other types of property:

How do property prices in Bath and North East Somerset compare?

Buyers paid 33.7% more than the average price in the South West (£324,000) in July for a property in Bath and North East Somerset. Across the South West, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost is £290,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £482,000 on average, and 1.1 times the price as in Bath and North East Somerset. Cotswold properties cost 2.2 times the price as homes in Plymouth (£223,000 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 July

Annual change to July

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South West