House prices dropped slightly, by 0.1%, in Oxfordshire in April, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 6.8% annual growth.

The average Oxfordshire house price in April was £377,004, Land Registry figures show – a 0.1% decrease on March.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across the South East, where prices decreased 2.3%, and Oxfordshire outperformed the 1.9% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Oxfordshire rose by £24,000 – putting the area 39th among the South East’s 70 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Hastings, where property prices increased on average by 14.6%, to £245,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in West Oxfordshire lost 3.2% of their value, giving an average price of £319,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of terraced houses fared worst in Oxfordshire in April – they dropped 0.4% in price, to £318,600 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 7.5%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 0.3% monthly; up 6.8% annually; £605,075 averageSemi-detached: up 0.2% monthly; up 7.3% annually; £392,422 averageFlats: down 0.2% monthly; up 4.5% annually; £220,135 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Oxfordshire spent an average of £310,000 on their property – £20,000 more than a year ago, and £32,000 more than in April 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £426,000 on average in April – 37.3% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Oxfordshire compare?

Buyers paid 10.4% more than the average price in the South East (£341,000) in April for a property in Oxfordshire. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £251,000.

The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £648,000 on average, and 1.7 times as much as in Oxfordshire. Elmbridge properties cost three times as much as homes in Southampton (£218,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average April sale price of £1.1 million could buy 11 properties in East Ayrshire (average £105,000).

Average property price in April

Oxfordshire: £377,004 The South East: £341,358UK: £250,772 Annual growth to April

Oxfordshire: +6.8% The South East: +5% UK: +8.9% Best and worst annual growth in the South East

Hastings: +14.6% West Oxfordshire: -3.2%