House prices dropped in North Hertfordshire in July, new figures show.

The drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 3.2 per cent annual decline.

The average North Herts house price in July was £337,732, Land Registry figures show - a 1.3 per cent decrease on June.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the East of England, where prices increased 0.1 per cent, and North Herts underperformed compared to the 0.5 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in North Herts remained level - putting the area 45th among the East of England's 47 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Forest Heath, where properties increased on average by 8.8 per cent, to £226,000.

At the other end of the scale, properties in Epping Forest dropped 3.5 per cent in value, giving an average price of £457,000.

Owners of detached houses fared worst in North Herts in July - they dropped 1.4 per cent in price, to £616,393 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 3.1 per cent.

Among other types of property, terraced houses were down 1.2 per cent monthly and down 2.8 per cent annually, with a £301,956 average.

Flats were down 1.1 per cent monthly and down 4.3 per cent annually, with a £211,915 average.

First-time buyers in North Herts spent an average of £268,300 on their property - £9,500 less than a year ago, and £64,600 more than in July 2014.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £394,700 on average in July - 47.1 per cent more than first-time buyers.

North Herts buyers paid 15.5 per cent more than the average price in the East of England at £292,000 in July. Across the East of England, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £233,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans - £530,000 on average, and 1.6 times as much as in North Hertfordshire.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average July sale price of £1.3 million could buy 15 properties in Burnley (average £84,000).