Chichester house prices dropped slightly in May

The drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 2.7% annual decline – the worst in the South East.

The average Chichester house price in May was £395,931, Land Registry figures show – a 0.2% decrease on April.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the South East, where prices increased 1.4%, and Chichester underperformed compared to the 0.9% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Chichester remained level – putting the area bottom among the South East’s 70 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Oxford, where property prices increased on average by 16.1%, to £456,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of detached houses fared worst in Chichester in May – they dropped 0.2% in price, to £624,585 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 2.2%.

Among other types of property:

Terraced: remained level over the month; down 1.8% annually; £330,890 averageFlats: down 0.1% monthly; down 5.1% annually; £205,613 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Chichester spent an average of £300,600 on their property – £9,200 less than a year ago, and £35,300 more than in May 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £448,200 on average in May – 49.1% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Chichester compare?

Buyers paid 13.1% more than the average price in the South East (£350,000) in May for a property in Chichester. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £255,000.