Luton house prices drop slightly - with the average price now £289,338

House prices in Luton dropped slightly according to new Land Registry data.

The latest figures show that house prices in the town dropped by 0.4% in November – but the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 11.3% over the last year.

The average Luton house price in November was £289,338, according to the data.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Luton rose by £29,000 – putting the area 20th among the East of England’s 45 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Cambridge, where property prices increased on average by 16.2%, to £544,000.

Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, which represents estate agents, said: "In November, our agents reported a market that was on the cusp of seeing purchasing power handed back to buyers which was a trend we hadn’t seen in months."

And Roger Evans, director of home finance distribution at Gatehouse Bank, said: “The property market is slowly becoming more favourable for buyers in some areas as rates stabilise a little following the turbulence of 2022.”

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Luton spent an average of £254,000 on their property – £26,000 more than a year ago, and £38,000 more than in November 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £332,000 on average in November – 30.4% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of flats saw the biggest fall in property prices Luton in November – they dropped 1% in price, to £157,621 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 7.4%.

Detached house prices were down 0.2% monthly; up 10.9% annually; £504,736 average. Semi-detached prices were down 0.3% monthly; up 11.9% annually; £339,643 average And terraced house prices were down 0.3% monthly; up 12.3% annually; £273,268 average

How do property prices in Luton compare?

Buyers paid 20.8% less than the average price in the East of England (£365,000) in November for a property in Luton. Across the East of England, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £295,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans – £620,000 on average, and 2.1 times as much as more than in Luton. St Albans properties cost 2.7 times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£231,000 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 November

Luton: £289,338

The East of England: £365,144

UK: £294,910

Annual growth to November

Luton: +11.3%

The East of England: +10.2%

UK: +10.3%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the East of England

Cambridge: +16.2%

Hertsmere: +3%