Here's how much first time buyers are spending to buy a home in Mansfield

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 5.9 per cent annual growth.

The average Mansfield house price in January was £147,127, Land Registry figures show – a 1.8 per cent decrease on December.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the East Midlands, where prices decreased 1.2 per cent – and Mansfield underperformed compared to the 0.5 per cent drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Mansfield rose by £8,300 – putting the area 34th among the East Midlands’s 45 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Derbyshire Dales, where property prices increased on average by 19.5 per cent to £309,000.

At the other end of the scale, properties in Wellingborough remained level at £214,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of flats fared worst in Mansfield in January – they dropped 2.4 per cent in price, to £80,582 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 1.8 per cent.

Among other types of property:

- Detached: down two per cent monthly; up 6.5 per cent annually; £210,243 average

- Semi-detached: down 1.6 per cent monthly; up 5.9 per cent annually; £137,976 average

- Terraced: down 1.9 per cent monthly; up 5.9 per cent annually; £107,232 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Mansfield spent an average of £129,500 on their property – £6,800 more than a year ago, and £26,500 more than in December 2015.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £161,600 on average in January – 24.8 per cent more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Mansfield compare?

Buyers paid less for properties in Mansfield than anywhere else in the East Midlands in January.

The average price paid in Rutland (£350,000), at the other end of the scale, would buy 2.4 homes in Mansfield.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average January sale price of £1.3 million could buy 14 properties in Blaenau Gwent (average £93,000).

Across the East Midlands, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £249,000.

Factfile

Average property price in January

Mansfield: £147,127

The East Midlands: £209,927

UK: £249,309

Annual growth to January

Mansfield: +5.9 per cent

The East Midlands: +7.6 per cent

UK: +7.5 per cent

Best and worst annual growth in the East Midlands

Derbyshire Dales: +19.5 per cent

Wellingborough: 0.0 per cent