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

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 2.3% annual growth.

The average Thurrock house price in August was £272,849, Land Registry figures show – a 0.5% decrease on July.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the East of England, where prices increased 0.8%, and Thurrock underperformed compared to the 0.7% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Thurrock rose by £6,200 – putting the area 19th 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 5.9%, to £269,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Babergh dropped 4.1% in value, giving an average price of £279,000.

Winners and Losers Owners of flats fared worst in Thurrock in August – they dropped 1.3% in price, to £173,656 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 1.5%.

Among other types of property: Detached: down 0.1% monthly; up 3.6% annually; £527,076 average Semi-detached: down 0.1% monthly; up 4.2% annually; £340,399 average Terraced: down 0.2% monthly; up 3% annually; £271,686 average First steps on the property ladder First-time buyers in Thurrock spent an average of £242,000 on their property – £4,500 more than a year ago, and £51,600 more than in August 2015.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £314,000 on average in August – 29.7% more than first-time buyers.

Buyers paid 7.9% less than the average price in the East of England (£296,000) in August for a property in Thurrock. Across the East of England, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £239,000.

The most expensive properties in the East of England were in St Albans – £522,000 on average, and 1.9 times as much as in Thurrock. St Albans properties cost three times as much as homes in Great Yarmouth (£174,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average August sale price of £1.4 million could buy 15 properties in Burnley (average £91,000).