House prices increased more than average for the North West in Barrow in August, new figures show.
The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 4.8 per cent annual growth.
The average Barrow house price in August was £128,842, Land Registry figures show – a 4 per cent increase on July.
Over the month, the picture was better than that across the North West, where prices increased 1.4 per cent, and Barrow outperformed the 0.7 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.
Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Barrow rose by £5,900 – putting the area 14th among the North West’s 39 local authorities for annual growth.
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The best annual growth in the region was in Tameside, where properties increased on average by 7.5 per cent, to £164,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Hyndburn dropped 2.8 per cent in value, giving an average price of £96,000.
Winners and Losers
Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Barrow in August – they increased 4.2%, to £157,884 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 5.8 per cent.
Among other types of property: Detached: up 4.1 per cent monthly; up 5.4 per cent annually; £224,732 average; Terraced: up 3.9% monthly; up 4.2% annually; £108,239 average; Flats: up 3.6 per cent monthly; up 2 per cent annually; £77,800 average.
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First-time buyers in Barrow spent an average of £115,100 on their property – £5,000 more than a year ago, and £20,300 more than in August 2015.
By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £144,100 on average in August – 25.3 per cent more than first-time buyers.
Buyers paid 25.8 per cent less than the average price in the North West (£174,000) in August for a property in Barrow.
Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £239,000.
The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £306,000 on average, and 2.4 times as much as in Barrow. Trafford properties cost 3.4 times as much as homes in Burnley (£91,000 average), at the other end of the scale.
The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average August sale price of £1.4 million could buy 15 properties in Burnley (average £91,000).
Factfile
Average property price in August
Barrow: £128,842
The North West: £173,617
UK: £239,196
Annual growth to August
Barrow: +4.8%
The North West: +3.5%
UK: +2.5%
Best and worst annual growth in the North West
Tameside: +7.5%
Hyndburn: -2.8%
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