Havering house prices increased slightly in May

House prices increased slightly, by 0.2%, in Havering in May, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 9.4% over the last year.

The average Havering house price in May was £422,527, Land Registry figures show – a 0.2% increase on April.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across London, where prices increased 0.2%, and Havering was lower than the 1.2% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Havering rose by £36,000 – putting the area fifth among London’s 33 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Islington, where property prices increased on average by 12.2%, to £742,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Westminster lost 1.1% of their value, giving an average price of £881,000.

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 Havering spent an average of £355,000 on their property – £29,000 more than a year ago, and £55,000 more than in May 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £488,000 on average in May – 37.4% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Havering in May – they increased 0.5%, to £405,058 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 9.9%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 0.1% monthly; up 11.2% annually; £826,595 averageSemi-detached: up 0.2% monthly; up 10.4% annually; £516,575 averageFlats: down 0.5% monthly; up 5.9% annually; £251,438 average

How do property prices in Havering compare?

Buyers paid 19.7% less than the average price in London (£526,000) in May for a property in Havering. Across London, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £283,000.

The most expensive properties in London were in Kensington and Chelsea – £1.3 million on average, and 3.1 times as much as more than in Havering. Kensington and Chelsea properties cost 3.8 times as much as homes in Barking and Dagenham (£345,000 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

Havering: £422,527London:£526,183UK: £283,496

Annual growth to May

Havering: +9.4%London: +8.2%UK: +12.8%

Highest and lowest annual growth in London

Islington: +12.2%Westminster: -1.1%