Arun house prices dropped slightly in August

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 14.7 per cent annual growth.

The average Arun house price in August was £324,330, Land Registry figures show – a 0.8 per cent decrease on July.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the South East, where prices increased 1.9 per cent, and Arun underperformed compared to the 2.9 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Arun rose by £42,000 – putting the area 10th among the South East’s 70 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Rother, where property prices increased on average by 18.8 per cent, to £348,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Reigate and Banstead gained 0.3 per cent in value, giving an average price of £414,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of flats fared worst in Arun in August – they dropped 1.6 per cent in price, to £180,151 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 10.7 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 0.6 per cent monthly; up 16 per cent annually; £529,042 average

Semi-detached: down 0.5 per cent monthly; up 15.4 per cent annually; £340,305 average

Terraced: down 0.9 per cent monthly; up 15.8 per cent annually; £278,044 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Arun spent an average of £255,000 on their property – £31,000 more than a year ago, and £46,000 more than in August 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £369,000 on average in August – 44.5% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Arun compare?

Buyers paid 9.4 per cent less than the average price in the South East (£358,000) in August for a property in Arun. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £264,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £666,000 on average, and 2.1 times as much as in Arun. Elmbridge properties cost three times as much as homes in Southampton (£221,000 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

Arun: £324,330

The South East: £358,070

UK: £264,244Annual growth to August

Arun: +14.7 per cent

The South East: +8.7 per cent

UK: +10.6 per cent

Best and worst annual growth in the South East

Rother: +18.8 per cent

Reigate and Banstead: +0.3 per cent