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%