House prices increased more than average for the East of England in Southend in August, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 1.6 per cent annual growth.

The average Southend house price in August was £288,445, Land Registry figures show – a 1.2 per cent increase on July.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across the East of England, where prices increased 0.3 per cent , and Southend outperformed the 0.8 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Southend rose by £4,600 – putting the area 12th among the East of England’s 47 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Forest Heath, where properties increased on average by 8 per cent, to £226,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Uttlesford dropped 3.5 per vent in value, giving an average price of £391,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Southend in August – they increased 1.9%, to £537,326 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 2.9%.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: up 1.4% monthly; up 2.8% annually; £361,100 average

Terraced: up 1.5% monthly; up 2.4% annually; £281,120 average

Flats: up 0.7% monthly; remained level over the year; £193,995 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Southend spent an average of £ 243,400 on their property – £2,800 more than a year ago, and £71,800 more than in August 2014.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £331,500 on average in August – 36.2% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Southend compare?

Buyers paid 2% less than the average price in the East of England (£294,000) in August for a property in Southend. Across the East of England, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £235,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in Three Rivers – £521,000 on average, and 1.8 times as much as in Southend. Three Rivers properties cost 2.9 times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£176,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average August sale price of £1.3 million could buy 15 properties in Burnley (average £84,000).

Factfile

Average property price in August Southend: £288,445 The East of England: £294,192 UK: £234,853 Annual growth to August Southend: +1.6% The East of England: +0.1% UK: +1.3%