St Helens house prices increased in December

General view of estate agents signs outside a block of flats in Basingstoke, Hampshire.

House prices increased by 2.3% in St Helens in December, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 0.1% over the last year.

The average St Helens house price in December was £182,847, Land Registry figures show – a 2.3% increase on November.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the North West, where prices increased 2.5%, but St Helens was above the 0.1% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in St Helens rose by £210 – putting the area 16th among the North West’s 35 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in West Lancashire, where property prices increased on average by 9.8%, to £253,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Hyndburn lost 7.8% of their value, giving an average price of £120,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in St Helens spent an average of £163,920 on their property – £140 less than a year ago, but £46,560 more than in December 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £205,260 on average in December – 25.2% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in St Helens in December – they increased 3%, to £310,761 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 2.7%.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached:

Terraced:

Flats:

How do property prices in St Helens compare?

Buyers paid 16.3% less than the average price in the North West (£218,000) in December for a property in St Helens. Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £285,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £366,000 on average, and twice the price as in St Helens. Trafford properties cost 3.4 times the price as homes in Burnley (£107,000 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 December

St Helens: £182,847
The North West:£218,353
UK: £284,691

Annual change to December

St Helens: +0.1%
The North West: +1.2%
UK: -1.4%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the North West

West Lancashire: +9.8%
Hyndburn: -7.8%