HOUSE prices in Bournemouth decreased by one per cent in September, despite witnessing a 3.3 per cent rise over the last 12 months.

The latest data from the Office of National Statistics shows the average property in the area sold for £249,206 – above the UK average of £232,554.

Across the South West, property prices have risen by 4.3 per cent in the last year, to £260,142. The region outperformed the UK as whole, which saw the average property value increase by 3.5 per cent.

The data comes from the House Price Index, which the ONS compiles using house sale information from the Land Registry, and the equivalent bodies in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The average homeowner in Bournemouth will have seen their property jump in value by around £62,000 in the last five years.

The figures also showed that buyers who made their first step onto the property ladder in Bournemouth in September spent an average of £202,976 – around £50,000 more than it would have cost them five years ago.