HOUSE hunters hoping to escape London for Southend have given the city’s property prices a big boost, it has been claimed.

Southend house prices increased beyond the average for the east of England, new figures for June show.

The data shows prices for property increased by 3.6 per cent during the month, with the picture across the year also showing an increase.

The average price for a property according to the Land Registry was £331,158, with prices rising by £12,000 over the past year.

Dedman Gray manager, Mike Gray (pictured inset right), believes the “strong” performance in Southend’s housing market has been triggered by buyers wishing to escape London and enjoy Southend’s “open spaces”.

He said: “It is apparent that over the last 12 months the Southend area has been performing stronger than many other locations throughout the UK.

“This has continued since the uplift in interest in the Southend area post-Covid where many buyers are choosing to be within reach of London and enjoy the waterfront location near to open air.

“That is why this has sort of happened.”

But Mr Gray said it was uncertain if prices would keep rising.

Mr Gray added: “I think the most recent increase in prices has now levelled off and we expect to see a stable market with regard to prices for the remaining period of 2024 without increasing prices during the year.

“A number of those new buyers interested in Southend in the last two years have been people moving from London or nearby areas.”

First-time buyers in Southend spent an average of £278,000 on their property, £9,400 more than a year ago and £41,200 more than in June 2019.

“This has caused a considerable pressure on first-time buyers,” Mr Gray said.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £382,800 on average in June which was 37.7 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Terraced house owners saw the biggest rise in property prices where it increased 3.9 per cent to £330,886 on average.