The average Watford home now costs almost £400,000 as house prices rose more than the East of England average in January.

The 1.3 per cent rise from December last year did not reverse the longer-term trend however, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 4.8 per cent annual decline.

It brought the average Watford house price to £392,913 in the first month of 2024, Land Registry figures show.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the East of England, where prices increased 1.2 per cent, and Watford was above the 0.5 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Watford fell by £20,000 – putting the area 32nd among the East of England’s 45 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in East Cambridgeshire, where property prices increased on average by 9.1 per cent, to £352,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Ipswich lost 11.3 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £213,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Watford spent an average of £348,000 on their property – £17,000 less than a year ago, but £43,000 more than in January 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £451,000 on average in January – 29.6 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of flats saw the biggest rise in property prices in Watford in January – they increased 1.7 per cent, to £283,446 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 3.5 per cent.

Among other types of property:

  • Detached: up 1.3 per cent monthly; down 5.3 per cent annually; £930,118 average
  • Semi-detached: up 1.1 per cent monthly; down 4.8 per cent annually; £528,251 average
  • Terraced: up 1.1 per cent monthly; down 5.9 per cent annually; £416,587 average

How do property prices in Watford compare?

Buyers paid 16.8 per cent more than the average price in the East of England (£337,000) in January for a property in Watford. Across the East of England, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost is £282,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in Three Rivers – £558,000 on average, and 1.4 times the price as in Watford. Three Rivers properties cost 2.7 times the price as homes in Great Yarmouth (£210,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, at £1.2 million.

Factfile

Average property price in January:

  • Watford: £392,913
  • The East of England: £336,502
  • UK: £281,913

Annual change to January:

  • Watford: -4.8 per cent
  • The East of England: -2.2 per cent
  • UK: -0.6 per cent

Highest and lowest annual growth in the East of England:

  • East Cambridgeshire: +9.1 per cent
  • Ipswich: -11.3 per cent