Which Mid Sussex neighbourhoods have the highest house prices?
Buyers had to fork out tens of thousands of pounds more for homes in Mid Sussex last year, according to new figures that also reveal the most expensive neighbourhoods in the area.
The impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which prevented house sales during the first lockdown, coupled with stamp duty holidays, has boosted the housing market across the UK since the world opened back up in 2020.
OfficeforNationalStatistics data shows the median house price hit £405,000 in Mid Sussex in the year to June – an increase of £30,000 compared to the previous 12 months.
Prices were also above prepandemic levels, with the average standing at £380,000 in the year to June 2019.
The median, the middle number in a series, is used to ensure figures are not skewed by extreme highs or lows.
These neighbourhoods in Mid Sussex recorded the highest median house prices in the year to June:
Balcombe and Handcross: £530,000 – up from £450,000 in 2019-20.
Hurstpierpoint and Bolney: £515,000 – up from £485,000.
Horsted Keynes, Ardingly and Sharpthorne: £494,000 – an increase from £432,000.
Copthorne and Turners Hill: £466,000 – rising from £426,000.
Haywards Heath North East: £465,000 – in line with the year before.
By contrast, the area recording the lowest average house price was Burgess Hill Central, where homes sold for around £305,000 in 2020-21.
The figures also show the number of homes sold in Mid Sussex rose year-onyear, from 2,372 to 2,679. The largest proportion were in Haywards Heath South and Cuckfield, where 267 homes changed hands in the period.
Across England, residential property sales increased by 10 per cent to 761,067.
Martin Beck, chief economic adviser of economic forecasting group EY Item Club, said while Government measures such as the stamp duty holiday brought forward house purchases last year, the market could be set to change.
He said: “The prospect of a series of interest rate rises by the Bank of England in 2022 will translate into higher mortgage rates.
“And cost of living pressures faced by households from rising inflation and taxes mean fewer people will be able to afford to borrow the necessary amount they need to buy at higher mortgage rates.”