North Kesteven house prices dropped slightly in April

File photo dated 14/10/14 of a sold and for sale signs. A gradual slowdown in the housing market in Scotland is likely as the cost-of-living crisis bites, a report has warned. House prices in Scotland continue to edge upwards but indicators are softening slightly, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) latest survey. Issue date: Thursday May 12, 2022.

House prices dropped slightly, by 0.5%, in North Kesteven in April, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 10.3% over the last year.

An imbalance between supply and demand for properties has remained the primary reason behind climbing house prices across the UK throughout the pandemic.

The need for larger deposits and constraints on accessing mortgages have pushed homeownership further out of reach for many first-time buyers – despite Government figures showing 50% of renters would be able to afford the monthly payments.

In a recent major speech in Blackpool, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a “comprehensive review” of the mortgage market would take place in a bid to help more people onto the property ladder.

The average North Kesteven house price in April was £251,824, Land Registry figures show – a 0.5% decrease on March.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the East Midlands, where prices decreased 0.5%, and North Kesteven was lower than the 1.1% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in North Kesteven rose by £23,000 – putting the area 25th among the East Midlands’s 35 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Boston, where property prices increased on average by 18.6%, to £197,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Rutland gained just 0.2% in value, giving an average price of £354,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in North Kesteven spent an average of £214,000 on their property – £20,000 more than a year ago, and £48,000 more than in April 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £274,000 on average in April – 28% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of flats saw the biggest fall in property prices North Kesteven in April – they dropped 0.9% in price, to £108,698 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 3.1%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 0.6% monthly; up 10.8% annually; £307,738 averageSemi-detached: down 0.4% monthly; up 10.9% annually; £208,303 averageTerraced: down 0.3% monthly; up 8.7% annually; £169,209 average

How do property prices in North Kesteven compare?

Buyers paid 5.9% more than the average price in the East Midlands (£238,000) in April for a property in North Kesteven. Across the East Midlands, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £281,000.

The most expensive properties in the East Midlands were in Harborough – £375,000 on average, and 1.5 times as much as more than in North Kesteven. Harborough properties cost 2.2 times as much as homes in Mansfield (£169,000 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 April

North Kesteven: £251,824The East Midlands:£237,904UK: £281,161

Annual growth to April

North Kesteven: +10.3%The East Midlands: +12.4%UK: +12.4%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the East Midlands

Boston: +18.6%Rutland: +0.2%