Sefton house prices dropped in April

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

House prices dropped by 1.1% in Sefton in April, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 2.8% over the last year.

The average Sefton house price in April was £206,169, Land Registry figures show – a 1.1% decrease on March.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the North West, where prices increased 0.7%, and Sefton was lower than the 0.5% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Sefton rose by £5,700 – putting the area 29th 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 15.5%, to £249,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Blackpool gained 0.4% in value, giving an average price of £130,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Sefton spent an average of £166,200 on their property – £4,200 more than a year ago, and £38,600 more than in April 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £233,900 on average in April – 40.7% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Sefton in April – they dropped 1.5% in price, to £155,796 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 2%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 0.9% monthly; up 4.3% annually; £372,872 average
Semi-detached: down 1.1% monthly; up 2.9% annually; £222,343 average
Flats: down 1% monthly; up 1.5% annually; £118,368 average

How do property prices in Sefton compare?

Buyers paid 3.1% less than the average price in the North West (£213,000) in April for a property in Sefton. Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £286,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £363,000 on average, and 1.8 times the price as in Sefton. Trafford properties cost 3.2 times the price as homes in Burnley (£115,000 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 April

Sefton: £206,169
The North West:£212,814
UK: £286,489

Annual growth to April

Sefton: +2.8%
The North West: +4.8%
UK: +3.5%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the North West

Fylde: +15.5%
Blackpool: +0.4%