House prices increased slightly, by 0.2%, in Epping Forest in December, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 7.9% annual growth.

The average Epping Forest house price in December was £510,369, Land Registry figures show – a 0.2% increase on November.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the East of England, where prices increased 0.4%, and Epping Forest underperformed compared to the 0.8% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Epping Forest rose by £37,000 – putting the area 33rd among the East of England’s 45 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in South Norfolk, where property prices increased on average by 21.1%, to £337,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Watford lost 0.6% of their value, giving an average price of £358,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Epping Forest in December – they increased 0.8%, to £1,012,759 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 12.1%.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: up 0.3% monthly; up 8.7% annually; £581,369 averageTerraced: up 0.2% monthly; up 6.5% annually; £430,382 averageFlats: down 0.6% monthly; up 3.7% annually; £297,825 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Epping Forest spent an average of £381,000 on their property – £23,000 more than a year ago, and £43,000 more than in December 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £618,000 on average in December – 62.4% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Epping Forest compare?

Buyers paid 50.3% more than the average price in the East of England (£340,000) in December for a property in Epping Forest. Across the East of England, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £275,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans – £577,000 on average, and 1.1 times as much as more than in Epping Forest. St Albans properties cost 2.9 times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£202,000 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 December

Epping Forest: £510,369The East of England: £339,502UK: £274,712Annual growth to December

Epping Forest: +7.9%The East of England: +11.7%UK: +10.8%Best and worst annual growth in the East of England

South Norfolk: +21.1%Watford: -0.6%