Surrey continues to have some of the most expensive real estate in the UK, but the last year has seen shifting home prices across the county, with significant drops in its traditionally priciest areas.

The Virginia Water and Wentworth area is the most expensive place to buy a house in Surrey, but prices have fallen there over the last year. The average home in the GU25 postcode area, which covers Virginia Water and Wentworth, was £1.7 million in the 12 months to October, according to the latest data from the Land Registry.

That’s a drop of 31.7% from £2.2 million in the year to October 2022. The drop in the area this year could be down to the fact that “only” one property was sold for an eight-figure sum.

READ MORE:Celebrities spotted in Surrey in 2023, including Kate Winslet, Peter Capaldi and Dame Judi Dench

The biggest sale this year was the £20.8 million sale of Chesham Place back in January. Last year, however, one property was sold for £24.0 million as well as one for £16.4 million, another for £15.0 million, and another for £10.0 million.

Five other postcode areas in Surrey had an average house price of over £1.0 million. In KT11 - which covers Cobham - the average home cost £1.3 million in the 12 months to October. That’s a drop of 1.2%.

In KT10 - Esher, Claygate, and Hinchley Wood - the average was £1.1 million, which is a rise of 3.8%. The KT24 postcode district - West Horsley, East Horsley, and Effingham - had an average of just under £1.1 million, which is a drop of 5.1%.

In GU5 - Albury, Bramley, and Shere - the average rose by 5.6% to £1.0 million, while in KT13 - Weybridge - it rose by 4.0% to £1.0 million.

Nationally, house prices fell by an average of £3,000 across the UK in the year to October. The average house cost £288,000 in 12 months to October 2023, new data from the Land Registry has revealed.

That’s 1.2% lower than in the year to October 2022. Average house prices decreased by 1.4% to £306,000 in England and by 3.0% to £214,000 in Wales, but increased by 0.2% in Scotland to £191,000.

Exclusive analysis by the Reach Data Unit can reveal how much prices have changed in each postcode district in the country.

The Buckingham Gate area of London had the largest annual increase in property prices of any area in the country to have had at least 20 house sales in the last 12 months.

The average home in SW1E - which covers the area just south of Buckingham Palace - cost £3.4 million in the 12 months to October.

That’s up by 74% compared to a year earlier when the average was just under £2.0 million. There were, however, only 16 house sales that year compared to 21 this time round.

The OX49 postcode district - which covers Watlington in Oxfordshire - experienced the next largest percentage increase.

Prices increased by 67% on average from £495,241 in the year to October 2022, to £828,062 in October 2023. That’s with a sale of 32 properties this year compared to 103 last year. In CA23 - which covers Ennerdale Bridge in Cumbria - average prices rose by 45% from £114,974 last year to £166,590 this year.

The W1G postcode district - which covers Harley Street in London - had the largest percentage drop in the country.

Prices there fell by 42% over the last year, from £3.1 million in the year to October 2022 down to £1.8 million in the year to October 2023. That’s followed by LL75 - Pentraeth in Anglesey - with average prices dropping by 41% to £223,438.

The W1K postcode district of Mayfair had the highest average in the country. Homes there sold for an average of £8.5 million in the 12 months to October. That’s down from an average of £9.5m last October though.

The W1J area of Mayfair is next with an average of £5.3 million. That’s followed by W1S - Hanover Square - at just under £5.3 million, SW1X - Belgravia - at £4.4 million, W1B - Portland Street - at £3.5 million.

Get more news across Surrey on our homepage here.