House prices dropped slightly, by 0.6%, in Eastbourne in July, new figures show. The drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 3.6% annual decline – the worst in the South East. The average Eastbourne house price in July was £293,149, Land Registry figures show – a 0.6% decrease on June. Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South East, where prices increased 0.5%, and Eastbourne was lower than the 0.5% rise for the UK as a whole. Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Eastbourne fell by £11,000 – putting the area bottom among the South East’s 64 local authorities with price data for annual growth. The highest annual growth in the region was in West Oxfordshire, where property prices increased on average by 7%, to £403,000. First steps on the property ladder First-time buyers in Eastbourne spent an average of £249,200 on their property – £9,600 less than a year ago, but £39,400 more than in July 2018. By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £329,000 on average in July – 32% more than first-time buyers. Property types Owners of flats saw the biggest fall in property prices in Eastbourne in July – they dropped 0.8% in price, to £203,173 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 3.7%. Among other types of property: How do property prices in Eastbourne compare? Buyers paid 25.6% less than the average price in the South East (£394,000) in July for a property in Eastbourne. Across the South East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £290,000. The most expensive properties in the South East were in Elmbridge – £678,000 on average, and 2.3 times the price as in Eastbourne. Elmbridge properties cost 2.7 times the price as homes in Southampton (£248,000 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 July Annual change to July Highest and lowest annual growth in the South East