Sefton house prices held steady in April

House prices remained steady in Sefton in April, new figures show.
File photo dated 14/10/14 of a sold and for sale signs. A gradual slowdown in the housing market in Scotland is likely as the cost-of-living crisis bites, a report has warned. House prices in Scotland continue to edge upwards but indicators are softening slightly, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) latest survey. Issue date: Thursday May 12, 2022.File photo dated 14/10/14 of a sold and for sale signs. A gradual slowdown in the housing market in Scotland is likely as the cost-of-living crisis bites, a report has warned. House prices in Scotland continue to edge upwards but indicators are softening slightly, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) latest survey. Issue date: Thursday May 12, 2022.
File photo dated 14/10/14 of a sold and for sale signs. A gradual slowdown in the housing market in Scotland is likely as the cost-of-living crisis bites, a report has warned. House prices in Scotland continue to edge upwards but indicators are softening slightly, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) latest survey. Issue date: Thursday May 12, 2022.

House prices remained steady in Sefton in April, new figures show.

The lack of movement maintains the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 9.8% over the last year.

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An imbalance between supply and demand for properties has remained the primary reason behind climbing house prices across the UK throughout the pandemic.

The need for larger deposits and constraints on accessing mortgages have pushed homeownership further out of reach for many first-time buyers – despite Government figures showing 50% of renters would be able to afford the monthly payments.

In a recent major speech in Blackpool, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a “comprehensive review” of the mortgage market would take place in a bid to help more people onto the property ladder.

The average Sefton house price in April was £201,519, Land Registry figures show – largely unchanged from March.

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Over the month, the picture was different to that across the North West, where prices increased 2%, and Sefton was lower than the 1.1% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Sefton rose by £18,000 – putting the area 24th among the North West’s 39 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Burnley, where property prices increased on average by 18.6%, to £119,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Pendle gained just 2.7% in value, giving an average price of £125,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Sefton spent an average of £163,000 on their property – £14,000 more than a year ago, and £38,000 more than in April 2017.

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By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £228,000 on average in April – 39.9% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of flats saw the biggest fall in property prices Sefton in April – they dropped 0.4% in price, to £116,841 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 5.1%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 0.2% monthly; up 13% annually; £363,010 averageSemi-detached: down 0.1% monthly; up 10.4% annually; £216,661 averageTerraced: down 0% monthly; up 8.9% annually; £152,824 average

How do property prices in Sefton compare?

Buyers paid 3.5% less than the average price in the North West (£209,000) in April for a property in Sefton. Across the North West, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £281,000.

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The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £347,000 on average, and 1.7 times as much as more than in Sefton. Trafford properties cost 2.9 times as much as homes in Burnley (£119,000 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 April

Sefton: £201,519The North West:£208,867UK: £281,161

Annual growth to April

Sefton: +9.8%The North West: +13.3%UK: +12.4%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the North West

Burnley: +18.6%Pendle: +2.7%