Worthing house prices increased in December

House prices increased by 4.1% in Worthing in December, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 3.7% over the last year.

The average Worthing house price in December was £363,946, Land Registry figures show – a 4.1% increase on November.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South East, where prices decreased 1.9%, and Worthing was above the 0.1% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Worthing rose by £13,000 – putting the area third among the South East’s 64 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Winchester, where property prices increased on average by 7.9%, to £538,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Gosport lost 11.5% of their value, giving an average price of £230,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Worthing spent an average of £288,700 on their property – £9,000 more than a year ago, and £63,400 more than in December 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £429,300 on average in December – 48.7% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Worthing in December – they increased 4.5%, to £491,584 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 5.7%.

Among other types of property:

• Detached: up 3.8% monthly; up 4.5% annually; £685,855 average
• Terraced: up 4.1% monthly; up 3.7% annually; £389,223 average
• Flats: up 4.1% monthly; up 2.4% annually; £227,778 average

How do property prices in Worthing compare?

Buyers paid 3.5% less than the average price in the South East (£377,000) in December for a property in Worthing. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £285,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £730,000 on average, and twice the price as in Worthing. Elmbridge properties cost 3.2 times the price as homes in Gosport (£230,000 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: £363,946
• The South East:£377,162
• UK: £284,691

Annual change to December

• Worthing: +3.7%
• The South East: -4.6%
• UK: -1.4%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South East

• Winchester: +7.9%
• Gosport: -11.5%