St Helens house prices dropped slightly in November

House prices dropped slightly, by 0.7%, in St Helens in November, new figures show.

The drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 1.3% annual decline.

The average St Helens house price in November was £175,465, Land Registry figures show – a 0.7% decrease on October.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the North West, where prices decreased 0.9%, and St Helens was above the 0.8% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in St Helens fell by £2,300 – putting the area 19th among the North West’s 35 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in West Lancashire, where property prices increased on average by 9.6%, to £251,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Burnley lost 11.1% of their value, giving an average price of £104,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in St Helens spent an average of £157,100 on their property – £2,500 less than a year ago, but £40,300 more than in November 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £197,300 on average in November – 25.5% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in St Helens in November – they dropped 1.1% in price, to £134,752 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 2.5%.

Among other types of property:

• Detached: down 0.1% monthly; up 1.2% annually; £298,419 average
• Semi-detached: down 0.7% monthly; down 0.9% annually; £182,827 average
• Flats: down 0.3% monthly; down 3.2% annually; £94,158 average

How do property prices in St Helens compare?

Buyers paid 17.8% less than the average price in the North West (£213,000) in November for a property in St Helens. Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £285,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £366,000 on average, and 2.1 times the price as in St Helens. Trafford properties cost 3.5 times the price as homes in Burnley (£104,000 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 November

• St Helens: £175,465
• The North West:£213,333
• UK: £284,950

Annual change to November

• St Helens: -1.3%
• The North West: -2%
• UK: -2.1%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the North West

• West Lancashire: +9.6%
• Burnley: -11.1%