Two Kent districts have dramatically bucked the trend when it comes to house prices, according to a major new property survey.

The latest edition of the Kent Property Market Report reveals the average house price across the county dipped by 3.9% from £410,412 to £394,513 between 2023 and 2024.

The figures, which compare prices at the end of the second quarter of the two years, are broadly in line with the South East decline of 3.8%.

However, they are heavier falls than the national average of 2.3%.

But some areas of Kent are faring much better.

A hike of 17.4% hike in the Dover district – which includes Deal and Sandwich – saw the average price there soar from £324,447 to £380,895 - an increase of £56,450 to the value of homes.

A recent Zoopla report declared it as one of the most affordable places in the South East.

Meanwhile, Thanet’s average rose by 11.6% from £313,319 to £349,534. It means it is no longer the district with the lowest average price, with Swale taking that title.

Mandy Bearne, consultant business development manager for property consultants Caxtons and a contributor to the Kent Property Market Report, said: “So many different factors contribute to whether prices go up or down, but in this case, just looking at figures more generally, it's actually mirroring what's happening nationally.

“So if you look at the latest figures about what prices are doing across the different regions, in the more expensive regions like the South East, they're going down more and then the less expensive regions like the North East, they're going up more.

“So I think what that's saying is where the base prices are low there's more demand, there's more affordability, there's more people looking and that puts prices up.”

There was also a 5.7% rise for Folkestone and Hythe (up to £341,392), Ashford increased by 2.2% (to £401,598), Dartford and Swale also saw increases of just under 2%.

The spike in Thanet and Folkestone will have been helped by the ongoing regeneration of the towns which has seen their fortunes turned around in recent years - once again becoming desirable locations, aided by a buoyant visitor economy.

“The regeneration in these towns inevitably plays a part,” adds Mandy Bearne. “It will be interesting to see how long it goes on for and at what price point it suddenly becomes not quite so attractive, but maybe that won't happen.”

The traditional commuter belt of west Kent also saw all three districts see an increase - up 7.2% in Sevenoaks (to £624,977), up 3.8% in Tunbridge Wells (to £561,906) and 1.6% in Tonbridge and Malling (to £449,780).

Sevenoaks remains the highest average area in the county - followed by its two neighbours.

“I imagine the reason for prices continually going up in those districts is supply and demand - in other words, not enough houses are being built,” explains Mandy Bearne.

“I was at an event recently where it was looking at housing targets. And the housing targets for Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells are likely to increase under this new government, absolutely massively.

“That's because they've fallen behind - the difficulty of finding sites, getting planning permission and so on in those districts has meant not as many houses have been built and scarcity increases prices.”

But there were declines in all other areas of the county. Medway - which has seen extensive homebuilding over recent years - saw the biggest dip of 4.8%, while Maidstone fell by 3.5%. Medway’s average house price of £303,872 is, according to the report, now the cheapest in the county.

Ms Bearne adds: “I live in Maidstone and I can see how much housebuilding has gone on and is going on here and it's interesting that Maidstone had one of the biggest drops in prices alongside Medway. I reckon that one of the main reasons for that is that supply and demand is much more in balance.”

Looking ahead, the recent Budget is unlikely to buoy the market.

Uncertainty within business as a consequence of additional costs they will incur is likely and fears of it sending inflation rates up again create hesitation for many - despite a recent further reduction in the Bank of England’s interest base rate which should, eventually, be reflected in lower mortgage rates from lenders.

The report explained: “Turbulence in the UK housing market was caused by high mortgage rates, rising building costs, and the end of Help to Buy affecting confidence in the market.

“While build costs and mortgage rates have recently started to settle or reduce across the summer, the squeeze on available cash and the uncertainty that consumers are facing have also affected the price homebuyers are willing to pay.

“While parts of Kent have outpaced the national performance, overall the county’s house prices fell further than the UK average. House prices in the second three months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023 were down 3.9% in Kent, compared to a drop of 3.8% in the South East, and 2.3% across England and Wales.

“Despite recent interest rates cuts by the Bank of England and falling inflation, the housing market held its breath before the recent Budget as it waited on news of what any changes might mean for the housing market.

“The biggest impact of the Budget is predicted to come into play at the end of March 2025 with homebuyers scrambling to complete their purchases before stamp duty relief changes take effect.”

The Kent Property Market Report, now in its 33rd year, is produced by Caxtons Property Consultants, Kent County Council and the county’s inward investment agency Locate in Kent.