House prices dropped by 1.6 per cent in Swindon in January, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 3.7 per cebt annual growth.

The average Swindon house price in January was £220,122, Land Registry figures show – a 1.6 per cent decrease on December.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the South West, where prices decreased 1.8 per cent, but Swindon underperformed compared to the 0.5 per cent drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Swindon rose by £7,800 – putting the area 28th among the South West’s 32 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Cornwall, where property prices increased on average by 13 per cent, to £266,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in West Devon gained 1.4 per cent in value, giving an average price of £266,000.

Winners and losers

Owners of flats fared worst in Swindon in January – they dropped 2.2 per cent in price, to £135,515 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 0.2 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 1.7 per cent monthly; up 4.7 per cent annually; £383,527 average

Semi-detached: down 1.2 per cent monthly; up 4 per cent annually; £242,714 average

Terraced: down 1.5 per cent monthly; up 4.2v annually; £192,446 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Swindon spent an average of £188,700 on their property – £6,100 more than a year ago, and £23,100 more than in December 2015.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £253,900 on average in January – 34.6 per cent more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Swindon compare?

Buyers paid 19.9 per cent less than the average price in the South West (£275,000) in January for a property in Swindon. Across the South West, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £249,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in the Cotswolds – £415,000 on average, and 1.9 times as much as in Swindon. The Cotswolds properties cost 2.1 times as much as homes in Plymouth (£194,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average January sale price of £1.3 million could buy 14 properties in Blaenau Gwent (average £93,000).

Factfile

Average property price in January

Swindon: £220,122

The South West: £274,648

UK: £249,309

Annual growth to January

Swindon: +3.7 per cent

The South West: +6.7 per cent

UK: +7.5%

Best and worst annual growth in the South West

Cornwall: +13.0 per cent

West Devon: +1.4 per cent