St Helens house prices increased slightly in March

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

House prices increased slightly, by 0.4%, in St Helens in March, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 11.2% over the last year.

The average St Helens house price in March was £183,092, Land Registry figures show – a 0.4% increase on February.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the North West, where prices decreased 1.3%, and St Helens was above the 1.2% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in St Helens rose by £18,000 – putting the area second among the North West’s 35 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 14.3%, to £247,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Blackpool gained 0.7% in value, giving an average price of £130,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in St Helens spent an average of £164,000 on their property – £16,000 more than a year ago, and £49,000 more than in March 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £206,000 on average in March – 25.6% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in St Helens in March – they increased 1.5%, to £311,057 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 13%.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached:

Terraced:

Flats:

How do property prices in St Helens compare?

Buyers paid 13.5% less than the average price in the North West (£212,000) in March for a property in St Helens. Across the North West, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £285,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £361,000 on average, and twice as much as more than in St Helens. Trafford properties cost 3.1 times as much as homes in Burnley (£115,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in E09000020.

Factfile

Average property price in March

St Helens: £183,092
The North West:£211,759
UK: £285,009

Annual growth to March

St Helens: +11.2%
The North West: +5.2%
UK: +4.1%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the North West

Fylde: +14.3%
Blackpool: +0.7%