House prices dropped by 0.9% – more than the average for London – in Sutton in May, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 5.8% annual growth.

The average Sutton house price in May was £394,981, Land Registry figures show – a 0.9% decrease on April.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across London, where prices decreased 0.7%, and Sutton underperformed compared to the 0.9% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Sutton rose by £22,000 – putting the area 13th among London’s 33 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Hammersmith and Fulham, where property prices increased on average by 14.9%, to £781,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in City of London lost 16.6% of their value, giving an average price of £766,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of terraced houses fared worst in Sutton in May – they dropped 1% in price, to £395,216 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 7.4%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 0.9% monthly; up 5.9% annually; £913,326 average

Semi-detached: down 0.9% monthly; up 6.9% annually; £561,866 average

Flats: down 0.7% monthly; up 3.8% annually; £272,501 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Sutton spent an average of £331,000 on their property – £17,000 more than a year ago, and £23,000 more than in May 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £468,000 on average in May – 41.4% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Sutton compare?

Buyers paid 20.7% less than the average price in London (£498,000) in May for a property in Sutton. Across London, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £255,000.

The most expensive properties in London were in Kensington and Chelsea – £1.2 million on average, and 3.1 times as much as in Sutton. Kensington and Chelsea properties cost 3.9 times as much as homes in Barking and Dagenham (£309,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average May sale price of £1.2 million could buy 12 properties in Burnley (average £100,000).

Factfile

Average property price in May

Sutton: £394,981

London: £497,948

UK: £254,624

Annual growth to May

Sutton: +5.8%

London: +5.2%

UK: +10%

Best and worst annual growth in London

Hammersmith and Fulham: +14.9%

City of London: -16.6%