House prices dropped slightly, by 0.2%, in Test Valley in July, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 11.5% annual growth.

The average Test Valley house price in July was £366,821, Land Registry figures show – a 0.2% decrease on June.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across the South East, where prices decreased 1.3%, and Test Valley outperformed the 3.7% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Test Valley rose by £38,000 – putting the area 20th among the South East’s 70 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Hastings, where property prices increased on average by 23.6%, to £263,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Swale gained 1% in value, giving an average price of £259,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of detached houses fared worst in Test Valley in July – they dropped 0.4% in price, to £348,074 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 12.2%.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: remained level over the month; up 11.8% annually; £348,074 average

Flats: remained level over the month; up 9.2% annually; £190,475 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Test Valley spent an average of £289,000 on their property – £30,000 more than a year ago, and £57,000 more than in July 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £419,000 on average in July – 45.1% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Test Valley compare?

Buyers paid 3.5% more than the average price in the South East (£354,000) in July for a property in Test Valley. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £256,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £687,000 on average, and 1.9 times as much as in Test Valley. Elmbridge properties cost 3.2 times as much as homes in Southampton (£217,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average July sale price of £1.3 million could buy 13 properties in Burnley (average £101,000).