House prices in the Canterbury district continue to buck the trend in the south east – rising again in March.

The cost of buying a new home crept up by 0.6%, contributing to a 2.7% rise over the last 12 months.

Properties in the district sold for £304,744 on average – almost £80,000 above the national average, according to the Office of National Statistics.

Meanwhile, across the South East, prices have fallen 0.4% over the past year – while in Kent they dropped 0.2% in March.

Charlie Bainbridge, of Charles Bainbridge Estate Agents, says that uncertainty over Brexit and national politics has hit sales of high end, multi-million pound houses.

But he says demand has stayed consistent for family homes – and is highest for three-bed or four-bed properties, being sold between £300,000 and £600,000.

Mr Bainbridge said the grammar school system and the high-speed rail link to London remain the biggest draws.

He said: “The grammars around central Canterbury and south Canterbury tend to give the area a little bit of solidity in terms of price.

“That definitely sees people re-locating to the area who might have not come to Canterbury otherwise, if they can get their children into what is perceived to be the best school of their choice, but without having to go independent.

"The other influence that we have also seen over recent years in terms of people coming into the area, is proportionate affordability relative to the access to London. Compared to the rest of the south east, you have still got relative affordability.

"We haven't had any sense of any sort of slowing or reducing interest."

The latest figures show the average homeowner in Canterbury will have seen their property jump in value by around £85,000 in the last five years.

Buyers who made their first step onto the property ladder in Canterbury in March spent an average of £249,338 – around £69,000 more than it would have cost them five years ago.

Between February last year and January this year, the most recent 12 months for which sales volume data is available, 2,307 homes were sold in Canterbury, 5% fewer than in the previous year.

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