House prices boom in one area of Merseyside - rising by more than the North West average

House prices increased by 1% – more than the average for the North West – in Sefton in October, new figures show. The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 13.4% over the last year.

The average Sefton house price in October was £217,554, Land Registry figures show – a 1% increase on September. Over the month, the picture was different to that across the North West, where prices increased 0.5%, and Sefton was above the 0.3% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Sefton rose by £26,000 – putting the area 18th among the North West’s 39 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

House price increases in Merseyside for October

• Knowsley - House prices increased by 0.2%. The average house price was £175,227.
• Liverpool - House prices dropped by 0.8% The average house price was £180,049.
• Sefton - House prices increased by 1%. The average house pricewas £217,554.
• St Helens - House prices increased by 0.2%. The average house price was £179,279.
• Wirral - House prices increased by 0.4%. The average house price was £213,668.

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

Average UK house prices increased by 12.6% in the year to October, accelerating from 9.9% 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 steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Sefton spent an average of £176,000 on their property – £21,000 more than a year ago, and £43,000 more than in October 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £246,000 on average in October – 40% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Sefton in October – they increased 1.4%, to £389,216 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 14.2%.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: up 0.9% monthly; up 13.9% annually; £234,603 averageTerraced: up 0.9% monthly; up 14.4% annually; £166,765 averageFlats: up 0.7% monthly; up 9.8% annually; £124,427 average

How do property prices in Sefton compare?

Buyers paid 1.2% less than the average price in the North West (£220,000) in October for a property in Sefton. Across the North West, property prices are roughly the same as those across the UK, where the average cost £296,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £374,000 on average, and 1.7 times as much as more than in Sefton. Trafford properties cost 3.1 times as much as homes in Burnley (£120,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea.

Factfile

Average property price in October

• Sefton: £217,55
• The North West:£220,292
• UK: £296,422

Annual growth to October

• Sefton: +13.4%
• The North West: +16.1%
• UK: +12.6%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the North West

• Warrington: +17.6%
• Rossendale: +4.6%