House prices leapt by 5.9% in South Hams in October, new figures show.

The significant rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 4.7% over the last year – the highest in the South West.

The average South Hams house price in October was £459,570, Land Registry figures show – a 5.9% increase on September.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South West, where prices increased 0.9%, and South Hams was above the 0.7% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in South Hams rose by £21,000 – putting the area top among the South West’s 26 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

At the other end of the scale, properties in Torbay lost 6.1% of their value, giving an average price of £251,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in South Hams spent an average of £364,000 on their property – £16,000 more than a year ago, and £122,000 more than in October 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £515,000 on average in October – 41.2% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in South Hams in October – they increased 6.4%, to £454,229 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 6.5%.

Among other types of property:

  • Detached: up 6% monthly; up 5.3% annually; £693,550 average
  • Terraced: up 5.6% monthly; up 3.7% annually; £353,814 average
  • Flats: up 5.5% monthly; up 2.6% annually; £245,432 average

How do property prices in South Hams compare?

Buyers paid 39.2% more than the average price in the South West (£330,000) in October for a property in South Hams. Across the South West, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost is £288,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £516,000 on average, and 1.1 times the price as in South Hams. Cotswold properties cost 2.4 times the price as homes in Plymouth (£218,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, at £1.4 million.

Factfile

Average property price in October

  • South Hams: £459,570
  • The South West: £330,260
  • UK: £287,782

Annual change to October

  • South Hams: +4.7%
  • The South West: -0.6%
  • UK: -1.2%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South West

  • South Hams: +4.7%
  • Torbay: -6.1%