Windsor might be on the up when it comes to royal wedding venues, but property prices do not appear to be following the trend.
Despite Windsor and Maidenhead having the highest house prices in the UK outside of London, averaging at £542,285, the unitary authority area has also seen the biggest annual decline in the cost of home.
Figures released by Your Move show house prices fell in the area in April by 9.2%. But, across England and Wales, they went up by 1% in the last year to April, and fell by 0.1% in the month.
While Windsor’s prices were plunging, North Somerset’s were spiralling upwards by 13.6%. In Wales prices went up over the last year by 4.8% – with Cardiff and Swansea seeing increases of 9.7%, the Vale of Glamorgan 10.2% and Monmouthshire 11.3%.
Your Move attributed the Welsh house price hike to the introduction of the new Land Transaction Tax in April. It means those buying higher-priced properties of between £400,000 and £925,000 will be hit with rates of 7.5% and 10%. As a result, Your Move believes, buyers bought forward purchases of more expensive homes in a bid to avoid the new tax.
In London, property prices continued on their downward trajectory. The data showed the capital was the only region in England and Wales to see prices falls on an annual basis.
In April prices decreased by 2.5% compared to the same time last year and the average property price is now at £601,808, which is £15,415 lower than last year.
Oliver Blake, managing director of Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agents said: “London remains the exception, rather than the rule, when it comes to the strength of the market in major cities of England and Wales, which remain strong.
“The market remains slow, though, when it comes to the number of transactions.”
