NEW figures reveal house prices in Colchester increased by 1.4% in Colchester month-on-month.

The rise echoes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the Colchester area grow by 15.1 per cent in the past year.

Land Registry figures have shown the average house price in Colchester, during August, was found to be at £326,922, a 1.4 per cent increase on July.

Over the last year, the average sale price of a property in Colchester rose by £43,000.

This puts the city 15th among the East of England’s 45 local authorities with price data highlighting annual growth.

The price increase was further highlighted by statistics that revealed first time buyers in Colchester spent an average of £275,000 on their property, £35,000 more than a year ago and £51,000 more than in August 2017.

Chris Druce, senior research analyst at Knight Frank real estate agents, 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.”