House prices increased by 4.5% in South Hams in December, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 5.6% over the last year – the highest in the South West.

The average South Hams house price in December was £449,131, Land Registry figures show – a 4.5% increase on November.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South West, where prices decreased 0.5%, and South Hams was above the 0.1% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in South Hams rose by £24,000 – putting the area top among the South West’s 26 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

At the other end of the scale, properties in Torridge lost 8.9% of their value, giving an average price of £303,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in South Hams spent an average of £357,000 on their property – £19,000 more than a year ago, and £111,000 more than in December 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £502,000 on average in December – 40.4% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in South Hams in December – they increased 5.4%, to £447,300 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 8.3%.

Among other types of property:

  • Detached: up 4.1% monthly; up 5.5% annually; £672,979 average
  • Terraced: up 4.5% monthly; up 4.9% annually; £346,380 average
  • Flats: up 4.4% monthly; up 3.7% annually; £241,192 average

How do property prices in South Hams compare?

Buyers paid 40.8% more than the average price in the South West (£319,000) in December for a property in South Hams. Across the South West, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost is £285,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £486,000 on average, and 8% in South Hams. Cotswold properties cost 2.2 times the price as homes in Plymouth (£218,000 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

  • South Hams: £449,131
  • The South West: £318,966
  • UK: £284,691

Annual change to December

  • South Hams: +5.6%
  • The South West: -2.2%
  • UK: -1.4%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South West

  • South Hams: +5.6%
  • Torridge: -8.9%