Worthing house prices increased more than South East average in August

House prices increased by 1.6% – more than the average for the South East – in Worthing in August, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 14.7% over the last year.

The average Worthing house price in August was £355,750, Land Registry figures show – a 1.6% increase on July.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the South East, where prices increased 1.4%, and Worthing was above the 0.9% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Worthing rose by £46,000 – putting the area 16th among the South East’s 64 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Thanet, where property prices increased on average by 22.7%, to £332,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Gravesham gained 7.1% in value, giving an average price of £326,000.

An imbalance between supply and demand for properties saw house prices climb across the UK throughout the pandemic.

But experts say expectations have changed significantly in recent weeks amid mortgage rate rises, with the likelihood of a dampening effect on house price growth.

According to figures from Moneyfacts.co.uk On Wednesday, the average two-year fixed-rate mortgage on the market has a rate of 6.52% and the average five-year fix is at 6.36%.

There are around 900 fewer mortgage products available than there were on the day of the mini-budget in September.

Chris Druce, senior research analyst at Knight Frank, said: “Current activity in the housing market is being shaped by mortgage status.

“Those that can are pushing on and securing deals ahead of further increases, while others have paused plans to digest events.

“With affordability set to be a growing barrier for many homebuyers in the coming months, we forecast house price growth will slow from here, with price falls in 2023.”

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Worthing spent an average of £285,000 on their property – £36,000 more than a year ago, and £63,000 more than in August 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £416,000 on average in August – 46% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Worthing in August – they increased 1.8%, to £378,678 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 16.4%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 1.6% monthly; up 15.7% annually; £661,374 averageSemi-detached: up 1.6% monthly; up 16.3% annually; £470,641 averageFlats: up 1.6% monthly; up 12.3% annually; £227,156 average

How do property prices in Worthing compare?

Buyers paid 12.6% less than the average price in the South East (£407,000) in August for a property in Worthing. Across the South East, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £296,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £719,000 on average, and twice as much as more than in Worthing. Elmbridge properties cost 2.9 times as much as homes in Southampton (£246,000 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 August

Worthing: £355,750The South East:£406,981UK: £295,903

Annual growth to August

Worthing: +14.7%The South East: +14.8%UK: +13.6%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South East

Thanet: +22.7%Gravesham: +7.1%