St Helens house prices increased slightly in February

House prices increased slightly, by 0.7%, in St Helens in February, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 13.4% annual growth.

The average St Helens house price in February was £165,238, Land Registry figures show – a 0.7% increase on January.

Over the month, the picture was less good than that across the North West, where prices increased 1.6%, but St Helens outperformed the 0.5% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in St Helens rose by £19,000 – putting the area 10th among the North West’s 39 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Hyndburn, where property prices increased on average by 19.2%, to £124,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Fylde gained just 3.7% in value, giving an average price of £218,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in St Helens in February – they increased 0.9%, to £279,019 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 16.4%.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: up 0.7% monthly; up 13.6% annually; £171,299 averageTerraced: up 0.7% monthly; up 12.2% annually; £127,205 averageFlats: up 0.8% monthly; up 7.6% annually; £91,554 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in St Helens spent an average of £148,000 on their property – £17,000 more than a year ago, and £39,000 more than in February 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £186,000 on average in February – 25.4% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in St Helens compare?

Buyers paid 18.8% less than the average price in the North West (£204,000) in February for a property in St Helens. Across the North West, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £277,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £351,000 on average, and 2.1 times as much as more than in St Helens. Trafford properties cost 3.1 times as much as homes in Burnley (£112,000 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 February

St Helens: £165,238The North West:£203,538UK: £276,755

Annual growth to February

St Helens: +13.4%The North West: +10.2%UK: +10.9%

Best and worst annual growth in the North West

Hyndburn: +19.2%Fylde: +3.7%