House prices increased by 1.5 per cent in Cumbria in December, new figures show.
The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 8.8 per cent annual growth.
The average Cumbria house price in December was £170,870, Land Registry figures show – a 1.5 per cent increase on November.
Over the month, the picture was less good than that across the North West, where prices increased 2.5 per cent, but Cumbria outperformed the 1.2 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.
Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Cumbria rose by £14,000 – putting the area 16th among the North West’s 43 local authorities for annual growth.
The best annual growth in the region was in Eden, where property prices increased on average by 15.5 per cent, to £226,000.
At the other end of the scale, properties in Lancaster gained 4.2 per cent in value, giving an average price of £167,000.
Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Cumbria in December – they increased 1.6 per cent, to £133,527 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 8.3 per cent.
Detached properties were up 1.4 per cent monthly; up 10.5 per cent annually; £282,176 average
Semi-detached: up 1.4 per cent monthly; up 8.3 per centannually; £171,056 average
Flats: up 1.5 per cent monthly; up 5.7 per cent annually; £115,718 average
First-time buyers in Cumbria spent an average of £141,000 on their property – £11,000 more than a year ago, and £19,000 more than in November 2015.
By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £198,000 on average in December – 40.1 per cent more than first-time buyers.
How do property prices in Cumbria compare?
Buyers paid 7% less than the average price in the North West (£184,000) in December for a property in Cumbria. Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £252,000.
The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £329,000 on average, and 1.9 times as much as in Cumbria. Trafford properties cost 3.4 times as much as homes in Burnley (£98,000 average), at the other end of the scale.
The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average December sale price of £1.3 million could buy 13 properties in Burnley (average £98,000).
