House prices increased by 1.6% – more than the average for the South West – in Dorset in August, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 16.8% over the last year.

The average Dorset house price in August was £371,228, Land Registry figures show – a 1.6% increase on July.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the South West, where prices increased 1.3%, and Dorset was above the 0.9% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Dorset rose by £53,000 – putting the area 10th among the South West’s 29 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in South Hams, where property prices increased on average by 24.3%, to £431,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Mendip gained 10.3% in value, giving an average price of £330,000.

An imbalance between supply and demand for properties saw house prices climb across the UK throughout the pandemic.

But experts say expectations have changed significantly in recent weeks amid mortgage rate rises, with the likelihood of a dampening effect on house price growth.

According to figures from Moneyfacts.co.uk On Wednesday, the average two-year fixed-rate mortgage on the market has a rate of 6.52% and the average five-year fix is at 6.36%.

There are around 900 fewer mortgage products available than there were on the day of the mini-budget in September.

Chris Druce, senior research analyst at Knight Frank, said: “Current activity in the housing market is being shaped by mortgage status.

“Those that can are pushing on and securing deals ahead of further increases, while others have paused plans to digest events.

“With affordability set to be a growing barrier for many homebuyers in the coming months, we forecast house price growth will slow from here, with price falls in 2023.”

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Dorset spent an average of £290,000 on their property – £41,000 more than a year ago, and £67,000 more than in August 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £416,000 on average in August – 43.6% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Dorset in August – they increased 1.7%, to £291,757 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 17.1%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 1.6% monthly; up 17.4% annually; £551,858 average

Semi-detached: up 1.6% monthly; up 18.2% annually; £364,502 average

Flats: up 1.6% monthly; up 13.4% annually; £197,871 average

How do property prices in Dorset compare?

Buyers paid 10.5% more than the average price in the South West (£336,000) in August for a property in Dorset. Across the South West, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £296,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £515,000 on average, and 1.4 times as much as more than in Dorset. Cotswold properties cost 2.3 times as much as homes in Plymouth (£227,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea.

Factfile

Average property price in August

Dorset: £371,228

The South West: £335,927

UK: £295,903

Annual growth to August

Dorset: +16.8%

The South West: +17%

UK: +13.6%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South West

South Hams: +24.3%

Mendip: +10.3%