St Helens house prices increased more than North West average in August

House prices increased by 1.7% – more than the average for the North West – in St Helens in August, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 18.2% over the last year.

The average St Helens house price in August was £185,720, Land Registry figures show – a 1.7% increase on July.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the North West, where prices increased 0.4%, and St Helens was above the 0.9% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in St Helens rose by £29,000 – putting the area third among the North West’s 39 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Fylde, where property prices increased on average by 18.7%, to £256,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Barrow gained 0.6% in value, giving an average price of £141,000.

An imbalance between supply and demand for properties saw house prices climb across the UK throughout the pandemic.

But experts say expectations have changed significantly in recent weeks amid mortgage rate rises, with the likelihood of a dampening effect on house price growth.

According to figures from Moneyfacts.co.uk On Wednesday, the average two-year fixed-rate mortgage on the market has a rate of 6.52% and the average five-year fix is at 6.36%.

There are around 900 fewer mortgage products available than there were on the day of the mini-budget in September.

Chris Druce, senior research analyst at Knight Frank, said: “Current activity in the housing market is being shaped by mortgage status.

“Those that can are pushing on and securing deals ahead of further increases, while others have paused plans to digest events.

“With affordability set to be a growing barrier for many homebuyers in the coming months, we forecast house price growth will slow from here, with price falls in 2023.”

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in St Helens spent an average of £167,000 on their property – £26,000 more than a year ago, and £53,000 more than in August 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £208,000 on average in August – 24.6% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in St Helens in August – they increased 1.8%, to £310,313 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 20%.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: up 1.7% monthly; up 19.1% annually; £193,470 averageTerraced: up 1.7% monthly; up 16.9% annually; £143,306 averageFlats: up 1.6% monthly; up 12.1% annually; £100,769 average

How do property prices in St Helens compare?

Buyers paid 15.2% less than the average price in the North West (£219,000) in August for a property in St Helens. Across the North West, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £296,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £371,000 on average, and twice as much as more than in St Helens. Trafford properties cost 3.1 times as much as homes in Burnley (£121,000 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 August

St Helens: £185,720The North West:£219,025UK: £295,903

Annual growth to August

St Helens: +18.2%The North West: +15.3%UK: +13.6%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the North West

Fylde: +18.7%Barrow: +0.6%