Ashfield house prices dropped in February

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 6.9 per cent annual growth.

The average Ashfield house price in February was £190,433, Land Registry figures show – a 1.1 per cent decrease on January.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the East Midlands, where prices decreased 1.1 per cent, and Ashfield underperformed compared to the 1 per cent drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Ashfield rose by £12,000 – putting the area 29th among the East Midlands’s 35 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Broxtowe, where property prices increased on average by 14.1 per cent, to £256,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Hinckley and Bosworth gained just 4.5 per cent in value, giving an average price of £282,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of terraced houses fared worst in Ashfield in February – they dropped 1.4 per cent in price, to £143,189 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 7 per cent.

Among other types of property:

• Detached: down 0.8 per cent monthly; up 7.1 per cent annually; £272,321 average;
• Semi-detached: down 1.2 per cent monthly; up 6.8 per cent annually; £175,670 average;
• Flats: down 1 per cent monthly; up 4.1 per cent annually; £96,028 average.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Ashfield spent an average of £169,000 on their property – £11,000 more than a year ago, and £48,000 more than in February 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £209,000 on average in February – 23.8 per cent more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Ashfield compare?

Buyers paid 23.8 per cent less than the average price in the East Midlands of £250,000 in February for a property in Ashfield. Across the East Midlands, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £288,000.

The most expensive properties in the East Midlands were in Rutland – £386,000 on average, and twice as much as more than in Ashfield. Rutland properties cost 2.1 times as much as homes in Bolsover, £180,000 average, at the other end of the scale.

Factfile

Average property price in February

• Ashfield: £190,433;
• East Midlands: £249,751;
• UK: £287,506.

Annual growth to February

• Ashfield: 6.9 per cent;
• East Midlands: 7.4 per cent;
• UK: 5.5 per cent.

Best and worst annual growth in the East Midlands

• Broxtowe: 14.1 per cent;
• Hinckley and Bosworth: 4.5 per cent.