Merton house prices increased in July

House prices increased by 1% in Merton in July, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 8.7% annual growth.

The average Merton house price in July was £580,187, Land Registry figures show –a 1% increase on June.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across London, where prices increased 1.1%, and Merton underperformed compared to the 2% rise for the UK as a whole.

Across the UK, the the average UK house price leapt by 15.5% in the year to July, marking the biggest increase in 19 years.

But the increase in annual inflation was mainly because of “a base effect” from the falls in prices seen this time last year, as a result of changes in the stamp duty holiday, the ONS said.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Merton rose by £47,000 – putting the area 13th among London’s 33 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Harrow, where property prices increased on average by 14%, to £547,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in City of London lost 11.5% of their value, giving an average price of £808,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Merton in July – they increased 1.2%, to £637,801 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 10.2%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 1.2% monthly; up 11.4% annually; £1,773,293 averageSemi-detached: up 1.1% monthly; up 11.3% annually; £921,522 averageFlats: up 0.8% monthly; up 5.5% annually; £407,226 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Merton spent an average of £495,000 on their property – £37,000 more than a year ago, and £51,000 more than in July 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £670,000 on average in July – 35.2% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Merton compare?

Buyers paid 6.7% more than the average price in London (£544,000) in July for a property in Merton. Across London, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £292,000.

The most expensive properties in London were in Kensington and Chelsea – £1.4 million on average, and 2.3 times as much as more than in Merton. Kensington and Chelsea properties cost 3.9 times as much as homes in Barking and Dagenham (£346,000 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 July

Merton: £580,187London:£543,517UK: £292,118

Annual growth to July

Merton: +8.7%London: +9.2%UK: +15.5%

Best and worst annual growth in London

Harrow: +14%City of London: -11.5%