Somerset house prices rise - but not as much as you might think
The cost of buying a home has continued to increase across Somerset, but aren’t keeping up with the national average. The average house price in the Somerset Council area was £294,078 in the 12 months to October, according to the latest figures from the Land Registry.
That’s an increase of 0.8% compared to a year earlier, equivalent to an extra £2,279 on each home. That’s well below the UK average increase, with prices rising by 3.4% over the last year to £292,059.
Things are better in other parts of the county, however. Average house prices in Bath and North East Somerset have increased by 1.9% (equivalent to £8,138 per home) to £439,714.
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North Somerset has seen the largest growth in the county. The average home there now costs £335,584, which is an annual increase of 3.7%, the equivalent of £12,034 per home.
You can see how prices have changed in your local area by using our interactive map:
The Shetland Islands is the UK’s property hotspot. The average house price there is £225,587. That’s 28.2% higher than a year earlier, which is a larger jump than any other local authority in the country, and works out as an extra £49,601 per house.
Tewkesbury has seen the next largest growth in house prices, with the average property costing 12.6% more than it did a year earlier. That’s followed by Bridgend (10.8%), Blaenau Gwent (10.6%), Blackburn with Darwen (10.5%) and Pendle (10.4%).
Prices are falling in many areas though, with parts of London experiencing the biggest drops in the country. The average home in Kensington and Chelsea cost over £1.1 million in the year to October.
That’s a fall of £285,480 per house compared to a year earlier, which works out as a drop of 20.3% and is the largest of any local authority in the UK.
The City of London has seen the next largest drop with homes costing 18.3% less than a year earlier, equivalent to £160,166 per house. Hammersmith and Fulham has the next largest drop at 10.5%, equivalent to £86,825 per home.
North Devon has seen the next largest fall in average prices at 7.8%, followed by Camden with a drop of 6.2%, Gwynedd with a drop of 5.1%, the Isle of Wight with a drop of 5.0%, Islington with a drop of 4.9% and the City of Westminster with a drop of 4.4%.
Manchester - often seen as the North’s property hotspot with skyscrapers popping up all over the city - has also seen a drop in average prices.
The average house in the city cost £253,061 in the year to October according to the Land Registry data. That’s a drop of 2.3% compared to a year earlier, equivalent to each house costing £5,981 less.