House prices dropped by 3.5 per cent in Allerdale in July, new figures show – but the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 7.2 per cent annual growth.
The average Allerdale house price in July was £166,801, Land Registry figures show – a 3.5 per cent decrease on June.
Over the month, the picture was better than that across the North West, where prices decreased 7.6 per cent, and Allerdale outperformed the 3.7 per cent drop for the UK as a whole.
Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Allerdale rose by £11,000 – putting the area 41st among the North West’s 43 local authorities for annual growth.
The best annual growth in the region was in Rossendale, where property prices increased on average by 19.9 per cent, to £169,000.
At the other end of the scale, properties in Hyndburn gained 4.4 per cent in value, giving an average price of £105,000.
Winners and losers
Owners of detached houses fared worst in Allerdale in July – they dropped 3.9 per cent in price, to £163,097 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by eigt per cent.
Among other types of property:
Semi-detached: down 3.2% monthly; up 6.9% annually; £163,097 average
Terraced: down 3.5% monthly; up 7.3% annually; £135,270 average
Flats: down 3.2% monthly; up 3.5% annually; £103,691 average
First steps on the property ladder
First-time buyers in Allerdale spent an average of £144,400 on their property – £9,600 more than a year ago, and £25,900 more than in July 2016.
By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £185,800 on average in July – 28.7 per cent more than first-time buyers.
Research published by The Cumberland recently found that the must-have for people buying their first home was a garden.
Access to outdoor spaces has been increasingly valued during the pandemic, alongside an increasing desire to connect with nature which was reflected in the findings of the survey of over 200 first-time buyers by The Cumberland.
Eighty-five per cent said having a garden was important to them.
The Great First Time Buyer Survey was carried out by The Cumberland, which is the 10th biggest building society in the UK.
It recorded 218 responses to the survey, which ran online between June and July.
How do property prices in Allerdale compare?
Buyers paid 9.9 per cent less than the average price in the North West (£185,000) in July for a property in Allerdale.
Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £256,000.
The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £324,000 on average, and 1.9 times as much as in Allerdale.
Trafford properties cost 3.2 times as much as homes in Burnley (£101,000 average), at the other end of the scale.
The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average July sale price of £1.3 million could buy 13 properties in Burnley (average £101,000).
