House prices dropped slightly in Thurrock in July, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 3.7% annual growth.

The average Thurrock house price in July was £275,123, Land Registry figures show – a 0.3% decrease on June.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the East of England, where prices increased 0.2%, and Thurrock underperformed compared to the 0.5% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Thurrock rose by £9,900 – putting the area fourth among the East of England’s 47 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in South Norfolk, where properties increased on average by 7.3%, to £274,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Broxbourne dropped 4.5% in value, giving an average price of £342,000.

Winners and Losers Owners of detached houses fared worst in Thurrock in July – they dropped 0.4% in price, to £529,919 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 4.9%.

Among other types of property: Semi-detached: down 0.1% monthly; up 5.3% annually; £342,395 average Flats: down 0.3% monthly; up 0.5% annually; £176,614 average First steps on the property ladder First-time buyers in Thurrock spent an average of £244,400 on their property – £8,100 more than a year ago, and £56,900 more than in July 2015.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £315,900 on average in July – 29.3% more than first-time buyers.

Buyers paid 6.7% less than the average price in the East of England (£295,000) in July for a property in Thurrock. Across the East of England, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £238,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in Three Rivers – £517,000 on average, and 1.9 times as much as in Thurrock. Three Rivers properties cost three times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£173,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average July sale price of £1.2 million could buy 14 properties in Burnley (average £91,000).