HOUSE prices dropped in St Helens in March, new figures show.
However, the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 1.1 per cent annual growth.
The average St Helens house price in March was £130,583, Land Registry figures show – a 1.1 per cent decrease on February.
Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the North West, where prices increased 0.2 per cent, and St Helens underperformed compared to the 0.2 per cent drop for the UK as a whole.
Over the last year, the average sale price of property in St Helens rose by £1,400 – putting the area 27th among the North West’s 39 local authorities for annual growth.
The best annual growth in the region was in Rossendale, where properties increased on average by 18.3 per cent, to £158,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Fylde dropped 8.7 per cent in value, giving an average price of £172,000.
Winners and Losers
Owners of flats fared worst in St Helens in March – they dropped 1.5 per cent in price, to £77,646 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 1.3 per cent.
Among other types of property:
Detached: down 0.7% monthly; up 1% annually; £215,127 average
Semi-detached: down 1.1% monthly; up 1.4% annually; £135,618 average
Terraced: down 1.4% monthly; up 1% annually; £100,790 average
First steps on the property ladder
First-time buyers in St Helens spent an average of £117,100 on their property – £1,200 more than a year ago, and £19,300 more than in March 2015.
By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £146,400 on average in March – 25 per cent more than first-time buyers.
How do property prices in St Helens compare?
Buyers paid 21.4 per cent less than the average price in the North West (£166,000) in March for a property in St Helens. Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £232,000.
The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £293,000 on average, and 2.2 times as much as in St Helens. Trafford properties cost 3.4 times as much as homes in Burnley (£86,000 average), at the other end of the scale.
The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average March sale price of £1.4 million could buy 16 properties in Burnley (average £86,000).
Factfile
Average property price in March
St Helens: £130,583
The North West: £166,202
UK: £231,855
Annual growth to March
St Helens: +1.1%
The North West: +3.4%
UK: +2.1%
Best and worst annual growth in the North West
Rossendale: +18.3%
Fylde: -8.7%
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