Worthing house prices dropped slightly in December

House prices dropped slightly, by 0.4%, in Worthing in December, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 7.5% over the last year.

The average Worthing house price in December was £352,715, Land Registry figures show – a 0.4% decrease on November.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South East, where prices increased 0.4%.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Worthing rose by £25,000 – putting the area 52nd among the South East’s 64 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Maidstone, where property prices increased on average by 18.6%, to £372,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Tandridge gained 3.3% in value, giving an average price of £530,000.

The average UK house price was £294,000 in December 2022, which was £26,000 higher than 12 months earlier.

It meant prices increased by 9.8% annually in December, slowing from 10.6% annual growth in November, according to the Office for National Statistics.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Worthing spent an average of £282,000 on their property – £20,000 more than a year ago, and £62,000 more than in December 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £413,000 on average in December – 46.6% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest fall in property prices Worthing in December – they dropped 0.7% in price, to £659,451 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 6.8%.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: down 0.7% monthly; up 7.8% annually; £465,969 averageTerraced: down 0.5% monthly; up 9% annually; £375,600 averageFlats: up 0% monthly; up 6.8% annually; £224,635 average

How do property prices in Worthing compare?

Buyers paid 12.7% less than the average price in the South East (£404,000) in December for a property in Worthing. Across the South East, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £294,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £721,000 on average, and twice as much as more than in Worthing. Elmbridge properties cost 2.8 times as much as homes in Gosport (£259,000 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

Worthing: £352,715The South East:£404,229UK: £294,329

Annual growth to December

Worthing: +7.5%The South East: +10.1%UK: +9.8%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South East

Maidstone: +18.6%Tandridge: +3.3%