House sale prices across Richmond borough have shown their first annual fall for many years, according to new official data.

Estate agents across the borough have been marking down asking prices amid a fall in the number of buyers and concerns about mortgage rates and the wider economy.

However, there are some hopes that the market has now stabilised and fears of a significant slump will not materialise.

On the face of it, the Richmond market performed worse in December than London and England.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show average sale prices for Richmond were down by 0.4% in December compared to the same month a year earlier. This compares to a rise of 6.7% for London and 10.3% for England.

The figures show the average sale price for a detached property was down by around £13,000 in the year to £1.75m. The figure for flats and maisonettes was down by around £9,000 to just over £483,000.

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Terraced properties showed a rise of £4,000 in sale prices to around £854,000.

While the general picture may be negative for the property wealth for people already on the ladder, there may be an opportunity for young people to realise their home owning dream in a borough with notoriously high prices.

Local property expert, Stan Shaw, of Mervyn Smith & Co, who speaks on market issues for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, said the figures echo the experience of local estate agents.

He said: "The pattern was that after the botched mini budget in September, mortgage rates increased and market activity and confidence sagged.

"Towards the end of 2022 you then started to get a lot of negative projections for 2023 (which can become self-fulfilling prophecies), ranging from a 5% drop (Zoopla) to 30% - with most players predicting a drop around 10-12%.

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"So December had a gloomy backdrop and often it's a quiet month in estate agency anyway, even in a typical year.

"On the ground January was the same – flat and quiet. However it feels to us that February has been perkier - we've had a couple of busy viewing days on Saturdays, and more offers than we've had for six months.

"Don't get me wrong – it's nothing like it was, but mortgage rates seem to have peaked with one or two high street lenders offering fixed rates which in a longer historical context are still very good.

"There has been a drop in average price and expectations but It's starting to feel like it may be settling again, albeit at a lower plateau."