House prices increased by 3.5% – more than the average for London – in Barnet in April, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 11.6% over the last year.

An imbalance between supply and demand for properties has remained the primary reason behind climbing house prices across the UK throughout the pandemic.

The need for larger deposits and constraints on accessing mortgages have pushed homeownership further out of reach for many first-time buyers – despite government figures showing 50% of renters would be able to afford the monthly payments.

In a recent major speech in Blackpool, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a “comprehensive review” of the mortgage market would take place in a bid to help more people onto the property ladder.

The average Barnet house price in April was £596,898, Land Registry figures show – a 3.5% increase on March.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across London, where prices increased 1%, and Barnet was above the 1.1% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Barnet rose by £62,000 – putting the area fourth among London’s 33 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Kensington and Chelsea, where property prices increased on average by 26.7%, to £1,514,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Hammersmith and Fulham lost 2.5% of their value, giving an average price of £721,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Barnet spent an average of £488,000 on their property – £48,000 more than a year ago, and £33,000 more than in April 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £697,000 on average in April – 42.7% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Barnet in April – they increased 3.8%, to £1,476,266 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 15.3%.

Among other types of property:

1. Semi-detached: up 3.2% monthly; up 13.2% annually; £843,897 average

2. Terraced: up 3.6% monthly; up 12.1% annually; £632,977 average

3. Flats: up 3.5% monthly; up 9.6% annually; £426,578 average

How do property prices in Barnet compare?

Buyers paid 12.7% more than the average price in London (£530,000) in April for a property in Barnet. Across London, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £281,000.

The most expensive properties in London were in Kensington and Chelsea – £1.5 million on average, and 2.5 times as much as more than in Barnet. Kensington and Chelsea properties cost 4.5 times as much as homes in Barking and Dagenham (£336,000 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 April

• Barnet: £596,898

• London: £529,829

• UK: £281,161

Annual growth to April

• Barnet: +11.6%

• London: +7.9%

• UK: +12.4%

Highest and lowest annual growth in London

• Kensington and Chelsea: +26.7%

• Hammersmith and Fulham: -2.5%