NEW figures have revealed a slight growth in house prices in St Helens in October.

Prices increased by a total of 0.2 per cent during the month.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 13.4 per cent over the last year.

The average St Helens house price in October was £179,279, Land Registry figures show – a 0.2 per cent increase on September.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the north west, where prices increased 0.5 per cent, and St Helens was lower than the 0.3 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

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Over the last year, the average sale price of property in St Helens rose by £21,000 – putting the area 19th among the North West’s 39 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Warrington, where property prices increased on average by 17.6 per cent, to £267,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Rossendale gained 4.6 per cent in value, giving an average price of £189,000.

Average UK house prices increased by 12.6 per cent in the year to October, accelerating from 9.9 per cent in September.

The increase in the annual percentage change was partly caused by a sharp fall in average house prices in October 2021, following changes to stamp duty.

The average UK house price was £296,400 in October, which was £33,000 higher than a year earlier.

Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said: “Despite today’s figures, double-digit UK house price growth is now a thing of the past.

“Even as the reverberations of the mini-budget fade, a more adverse lending landscape is emerging after 13 years of ultra-low rates.”

First-time buyers in St Helens spent an average of £161,000 on their property – £19,000 more than a year ago, and £49,000 more than in October 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £201,000 on average in October – 24.9 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in St Helens in October – they increased 0.6 per cent, to £299,351 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 13.9 per cent.