House prices crashed by 5.1% in West Devon in November, new figures show.

The large drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 2.6% annual decline.

The average West Devon house price in November was £322,689, Land Registry figures show – a 5.1% decrease on October.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South West, where prices decreased 2.7%, and West Devon was lower than the 0.8% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in West Devon fell by £8,500 – putting the area 12th among the South West’s 26 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Bath and North East Somerset, where property prices increased on average by 4.6%, to £461,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Torridge lost 6.7% of their value, giving an average price of £302,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in West Devon spent an average of £242,200 on their property – £6,800 less than a year ago, but £49,300 more than in November 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £365,100 on average in November – 50.7% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in West Devon in November – they dropped 5.3% in price, to £241,072 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 3.3%.

Among other types of property:

  • Detached: down 5% monthly; down 1.9% annually; £467,687 average
  • Semi-detached: down 5.2% monthly; down 2.5% annually; £313,073 average
  • Flats: down 4.4% monthly; down 3.2% annually; £147,559 average

How do property prices in West Devon compare?

Buyers paid 1.1% more than the average price in the South West (£319,000) in November for a property in West Devon. Across the South West, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost is £285,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £509,000 on average, and 1.6 times the price as in West Devon. Cotswold properties cost 2.4 times the price as homes in Plymouth (£213,000 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 November

  • West Devon: £322,689
  • The South West: £319,221
  • UK: £284,950

Annual change to November

  • West Devon: -2.6%
  • The South West: -4.1%
  • UK: -2.1%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South West

  • Bath and North East Somerset: +4.6%
  • Torridge: -6.7%