House prices increased by 2.4% – more than the average for the South West – in the Forest of Dean in October, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 20.2% over the last year.

The average the Forest of Dean house price in October was £325,238, Land Registry figures show – a 2.4% increase on September.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South West, where prices increased 0.5%, and the Forest of Dean was above the 0.3% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in the Forest of Dean rose by £55,000 – putting the area second among the South West’s 29 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in South Hams, where property prices increased on average by 21.5%, to £453,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Cotswold gained 11.1% in value, giving an average price of £505,000.

Average UK house prices increased by 12.6% in the year to October, accelerating from 9.9% in September.

The increase in the annual percentage change was partly caused by a sharp fall in average house prices in October 2021, following changes to stamp duty.

The average UK house price was £296,400 in October, which was £33,000 higher than a year earlier.

Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said: “Despite today’s figures, double-digit UK house price growth is now a thing of the past.

“Even as the reverberations of the mini-budget fade, a more adverse lending landscape is emerging after 13 years of ultra-low rates."

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in the Forest of Dean spent an average of £256,000 on their property – £43,000 more than a year ago, and £86,000 more than in October 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £362,000 on average in October – 41.2% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in the Forest of Dean in October – they increased 2.5%, to £433,906 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 20.5%.

Among other types of property:

How do property prices in the Forest of Dean compare?

Buyers paid 4.1% less than the average price in the South West (£339,000) in October for a property in the Forest of Dean. Across the South West, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £296,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £505,000 on average, and 1.6 times as much as more than in the Forest of Dean. Cotswold properties cost 2.2 times as much as homes in Plymouth (£230,000 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 October

Annual growth to October

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South West