House prices dropped by 1.4 per cent in Maldon in February, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 15.4 per cent annual growth.

The average Maldon house price in February was £401,988, Land Registry figures show – a 1.4 per cent decrease on January.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the East of England, where prices increased 1.3 per cent, and Maldon underperformed compared to the 0.5 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Maldon rose by £54,000 – putting the area fifth among the East of England’s 45 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Broadland, where property prices increased on average by 19.6 per cent, to £333,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Watford gained just 2.1 per cent in value, giving an average price of £371,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of flats fared worst in Maldon in February – they dropped 1.6 per cent in price, to £172,665 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 7.8 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 1.3% monthly; up 17.6% annually; £595,581 average

Semi-detached: down 1.4% monthly; up 15.7% annually; £362,382 average

Terraced: down 1.6% monthly; up 12.7% annually; £270,027 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Maldon spent an average of £304,000 on their property – £39,000 more than a year ago, and £65,000 more than in February 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £459,000 on average in February – 51.2% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Maldon compare?

Buyers paid 16.3% more than the average price in the East of England (£346,000) in February for a property in Maldon. Across the East of England, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £277,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in Three Rivers – £579,000 on average, and 1.4 times as much as more than in Maldon. Three Rivers properties cost 2.7 times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£213,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea.