House prices increased by 0.5% – more than the average for the South West – in the Forest of Dean in March, new figures show.

But the rise does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 5.5% annual decline – the worst in the South West.

The average the Forest of Dean house price in March was £289,581. Land Registry figures show a 0.5% increase on February.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the South West, where prices increased 0.2%, but the Forest of Dean was lower than the 0.7% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in the Forest of Dean fell by £17,000 – putting the area bottom among the South West’s 26 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Stroud, where property prices increased on average by 9.8%, to £357,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in the Forest of Dean spent an average of £230,000 on their property – £12,000 less than a year ago, but £41,000 more than in March 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £320,000 on average in March – 39.5% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in the Forest of Dean in March – they increased 0.8%, to £381,417 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 5.5%.

Among other types of property:

How do property prices in the Forest of Dean compare?

Buyers paid 8.4% less than the average price in the South West (£316,000) in March for a property in the Forest of Dean. Across the South West, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost is £283,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £496,000 on average, and 1.7 times the price as in the Forest of Dean. Cotswold properties cost 2.2 times the price 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 March

Annual change to March

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South West