Milton Keynes house prices increased more than South East average in May

House prices increased by 1.8 per cent – more than the average for the South East – in Milton Keynes in May, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 8.1 per cent annual growth.

The average Milton Keynes house price in May was £281,140, Land Registry figures show – a 1.8 per cent increase on April.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the South East, where prices increased 1.4 per cent, and Milton Keynes outperformed the 0.9 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Milton Keynes rose by £21,000 – putting the area 34th among the South East’s 70 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Oxford, where property prices increased on average by 16.1 per cent, to £456,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Chichester lost 2.7 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £396,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Milton Keynes in May – they increased 2 per cent, to £474,285 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 9.1 per cent.

Among other types of property:

> Semi-detached: up 1.9 per cent monthly; up 8.3 per cent annually; £282,563 average

> Terraced: up 1.6 per cent monthly; up 8.9 per cent annually; £236,370 average

> Flats: up 1.6 per cent monthly; up 5.2 per cent annually; £155,155 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Milton Keynes spent an average of £228,000 on their property – £16,000 more than a year ago, and £26,000 more than in May 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £327,000 on average in May – 43.3 per cent more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Milton Keynes compare?

Buyers paid 19.7 per cent less than the average price in the South East (£350,000) in May for a property in Milton Keynes. Across the South East, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £255,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £646,000 on average, and 2.3 times as much as in Milton Keynes. Elmbridge properties cost 2.9 times as much as homes in Southampton (£221,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average May sale price of £1.2 million could buy 12 properties in Burnley (average £100,000).

Factfile

Average property price in May:

- Milton Keynes: £281,140

- The South East: £350,016

- UK: £254,624

Annual growth to May:

- Milton Keynes: +8.1 per cent

- The South East: +9.1 per cent

- UK: +10 per cent.