House prices dropped slightly, by 0.6%, in Mid Sussex in October, new figures show. But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 2.6% over the last year. The average Mid Sussex house price in October was £470,328, Land Registry figures show – a 0.6% decrease on September. Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the South East, where prices decreased 0.9%, and Mid Sussex was above the 0.7% drop for the UK as a whole. Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Mid Sussex rose by £12,000 – putting the area ninth among the South East’s 64 local authorities with price data for annual growth. The highest annual growth in the region was in Tandridge, where property prices increased on average by 10.3%, to £575,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Hastings lost 9.2% of their value, giving an average price of £269,000. First steps on the property ladder First-time buyers in Mid Sussex spent an average of £349,700 on their property – £8,200 more than a year ago, and £63,300 more than in October 2018. By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £551,800 on average in October – 57.8% more than first-time buyers. Property types Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Mid Sussex in October – they dropped 0.8% in price, to £390,435 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 1.5%. Among other types of property: How do property prices in Mid Sussex compare? Buyers paid 20.8% more than the average price in the South East (£389,000) in October for a property in Mid Sussex. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £288,000. The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £721,000 on average, and 1.5 times the price as in Mid Sussex. Elmbridge properties cost three times the price as homes in Southampton (£243,000 average), at the other end of the scale. The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, at £1.4 million. Factfile Average property price in October Annual change to October Highest and lowest annual growth in the South East