House prices dropped by 3.6% in the Forest of Dean in May, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 6.9% over the last year – though still the lowest in the South West.

The average the Forest of Dean house price in May was £290,874, Land Registry figures show – a 3.6% decrease on April.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South West, where prices increased 1%, and the Forest of Dean was lower than the 1.2% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in the Forest of Dean rose by £19,000 – putting the area bottom among the South West’s 29 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in South Hams, where property prices increased on average by 22.9%, to £426,000.

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

But activity is starting to slow, with soaring inflation putting household budgets under pressure.

Sarah Coles, senior personal finance analyst at financial advice company Hargreaves Lansdown, said:“The average house price hit another record high in May, and rose faster than any time since the peak in June last year.

"However, we’re starting to see small changes in the market, which are likely to mean weaker growth in the coming months, especially if interest rates are hiked in August."

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in the Forest of Dean spent an average of £229,000 on their property – £14,000 more than a year ago, and £61,000 more than in May 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £324,000 on average in May – 41.5% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of flats saw the biggest fall in property prices the Forest of Dean in May – they dropped 4.1% in price, to £123,634 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 0.8%.

Among other types of property:

How do property prices in the Forest of Dean compare?

Buyers paid 10.1% less than the average price in the South West (£323,000) in May for a property in the Forest of Dean. Across the South West, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £283,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £474,000 on average, and 1.6 times as much as more than in the Forest of Dean. Cotswold properties cost 2.1 times as much as homes in Plymouth (£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 May

Annual growth to May

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South West