Luton house prices dropped more than East of England average in November

House prices dropped by 2.5 per cent – more than the average for the East of England – in Luton in November, new figures show.

The drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 4.5 per cent annual decline. The average Luton house price in November was £273,000, Land Registry figures show – a 2.5 per cent decrease on October.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the East of England, where prices decreased 0.2 per cent, and Luton was lower than the 0.8 per cent drop for the UK as a whole. Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Luton fell by £13,000 – putting the area 33rd among the East of England’s 45 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Maldon, where property prices increased on average by 6.1 per cent, to £442,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Stevenage lost 9 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £322,000.

First-time buyers in Luton spent an average of £240,000 on their property – £12,000 less than a year ago, but £29,000 more than in November 2018. By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £313,000 on average in November – 30.6 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Luton in November – they dropped 2.9 per cent in price, to £255,583 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 5.4 per cent.

Other property types: Detached: down 2.2 per cent monthly; down 3.9 per cent annually; £478,139 average

Semi-detached: down 2.5 per cent monthly; down 4.1 per cent annually; £321,590 average

Flats: down 2.2 per cent monthly; down 4.7 per cent annually; £149,562 average

How do property prices in Luton compare?

Buyers paid 21.2 per cent less than the average price in the East of England (£347,000) in November for a property in Luton. Across the East of England, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £285,000.