With mortgage interest rates under increasing strain due to inflation, all eyes are on the property market to see whether house prices will rise or fall. New official figures pinpoint the neighbourhoods in England, where average sale prices are either increasing or falling the fastest.
The latest data from the UK House Price Index shows the average UK house price was £286,500 in April 2023, a slight rise from the previous month but £6,500 below the £293,000 all-time high recorded in September 2022.
The Office for National Statistics also divides England into thousands of smaller areas known as middle-layer super output areas. It has released new house price figures for each of these neighbourhoods for the calendar year 2022.
This allows us to pinpoint the suburbs, towns and villages which have seen house prices rise and fall the most since the previous year.
Here are the areas of St Helens which have seen the biggest rise in average sale prices in 2022, compared with 2021.
1. Derbyshire Hill
Derbyshire Hill saw house prices rise by 27.5% in a year, with average properties selling for £130,00 in 2022. Photo: Google Street View
2. Billinge
Billinge saw house prices rise by 20.2% in a year, with average properties selling for £220,00 in 2022. Photo: Gary Rogers, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
3. Rainhill South
Rainhill South saw house prices rise by 17.6% in a year, with average properties selling for £267,500 in 2022. Photo: Bill Boaden, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
4. Broad Oak
Broad Oak saw house prices rise by 17.4% in a year, with average properties selling for £123,250 in 2022. Photo: Google Street View