House prices dropped slightly, by 0.2 per cent in Cumbria in January, new figures show.
But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 8.1 per cent annual growth.
The average Cumbria house price in January was £169,928, Land Registry figures show – a 0.2 per cent decrease on December.
Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the North West, where prices increased 0.7 per cent, and Cumbria outperformed the 0.5 per cent drop for the UK as a whole.
Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Cumbria rose by £13,000 – putting the area 33rd among the North West’s 43 local authorities for annual growth.
The best annual growth in the region was in Liverpool, where property prices increased on average by 23.4 per cent , to £156,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Wyre gained 3.7 per cent in value, giving an average price of £164,000.
Winners and losers
Owners of flats fared worst in Cumbria in January – they dropped 0.7 per cent in price, to £114,248 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 4 per cent.
Among other types of property:
- Detached: down 0.3 per cent monthly; up 9.5 per cent annually; £279,965 average
- Semi-detached: remained level over the month; up 8.1 per cent annually; £170,436 average
- Terraced: down 0.2 per cent monthly; up 7.9 per cent annually; £133,027 average
First steps on the property ladder
First-time buyers in Cumbria spent an average of £140,400 on their property – £9,800 more than a year ago, and £18,200 more than in December 2015.
By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £196,900 on average in January – 40.2 per cent more than first-time buyers.
How do property prices in Cumbria compare?
Buyers paid 7.8 per cent less than the average price in the North West (£184,000) in January for a property in Cumbria.
Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £249,000.
The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £331,000 on average, and 1.9 times as much as in Cumbria.
Trafford properties cost 3.3 times as much as homes in Burnley (£100,000 average), at the other end of the scale.
The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average January sale price of £1.3 million could buy 14 properties in Blaenau Gwent (average £93,000).
