House prices dropped by 2.3% in Woking in May, new figures show.

The drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 5.7% annual decline.

The average Woking house price in May was £445,034. Land Registry figures show a 2.3% decrease on April.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South East, where prices increased 0.3%, and Woking was lower than the 1.2% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Woking fell by £27,000 – putting the area 62nd among the South East’s 64 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in the Vale of White Horse, where property prices increased on average by 9.8%, to £425,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Epsom and Ewell lost 10.2% of their value, giving an average price of £493,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Woking spent an average of £327,000 on their property – £20,000 less than a year ago, but £28,000 more than in May 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £546,000 on average in May – 66.9% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Woking in May – they dropped 2.5% in price, to £386,574 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 5.5%.

Among other types of property:

  • Detached: down 1.9% monthly; down 5.9% annually; £923,203 average
  • Semi-detached: down 2.3% monthly; down 4.8% annually; £487,850 average
  • Flats: down 2.5% monthly; down 6.1% annually; £257,842 average

How do property prices in Woking compare?

Buyers paid 18.5% more than the average price in the South East (£376,000) in May for a property in Woking. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £285,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £625,000 on average, and 1.4 times the price as in Woking. Elmbridge properties cost 2.6 times the price as homes in Southampton (£241,000 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 May

  • Woking: £445,034
  • The South East: £375,693
  • UK: £285,201

Annual change to May

  • Woking: -5.7%
  • The South East: +0.7%
  • UK: +2.2%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South East

  • The Vale of White Horse: +9.8%
  • Epsom and Ewell: -10.2%