House prices dropped slightly, by 0.2%, in Dorset in January, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 10.1% annual growth.

The average Dorset house price in January was £340,998, Land Registry figures show – a 0.2% decrease on December.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across the South West, where prices decreased 1.1%, but Dorset underperformed compared to the 0.4% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Dorset rose by £31,000 – putting the area 21st among the South West’s 29 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in North Devon, where property prices increased on average by 24.6%, to £331,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in the Forest of Dean gained just 6% in value, giving an average price of £283,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of detached houses fared worst in Dorset in January – they dropped 0.5% in price, to £511,266 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 12%.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: down 0% monthly; up 11% annually; £331,584 average

Terraced: down 0% monthly; up 9.2% annually; £264,536 average

Flats: up 0.1% monthly; up 5.4% annually; £182,869 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Dorset spent an average of £265,000 on their property – £22,000 more than a year ago, and £51,000 more than in January 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £383,000 on average in January – 44.8% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Dorset compare?

Buyers paid 10.9% more than the average price in the South West (£307,000) in January for a property in Dorset. Across the South West, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £274,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £467,000 on average, and 1.4 times as much as more than in Dorset. Cotswold properties cost 2.3 times as much as homes in Plymouth (£206,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea.

Factfile

Average property price in January

Dorset: £340,998

The South West: £307,468

UK: £273,762

Annual growth to January

Dorset: +10.1%

The South West: +10.9%

UK: +9.6%

Best and worst annual growth in the South West

North Devon: +24.6%

The Forest of Dean: +6%