HOUSE prices dropped by 3.1% in the Maldon district in November, the latest figures show.

The average Maldon house price in November was £379,585, Land Registry figures show – a 3.1 per cent decrease on October.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the East of England, where prices increased 2.1 per cent.

Maldon underperformed compared to the 1.2 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 13.6 per cent annual growth.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Maldon rose by £45,000 – putting the area 12th among the East of England’s 45 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

Owners of flats fared worst in Maldon in November – they dropped 3.7 per cent in price, to £164,047 on average.

But over the last year, prices rose by 6.2 per cent.

First-time buyers in Maldon spent an average of £287,000 on their property – £33,000 more than a year ago, and £51,000 more than in November 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £433,000 on average in November – 51.1 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Buyers paid 12.7 per cent more than the average price in the East of England (£337,000) in November for a property in Maldon.

Across the East of England, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £271,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans – £572,000 on average, and 1.5 times as much as more than in Maldon.