HOUSE prices dropped slightly, by 0.1%, in Wirral 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 2.5% over the last year.

The average Wirral house price in April was £210,512. Land Registry figures show a 0.1% decrease on March.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the North West, where prices increased 0.7%, and Wirral was lower than the 0.3% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Wirral rose by £5,200 – putting the area 17th among the North West’s 35 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Ribble Valley, where property prices increased on average by 10.6%, to £273,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in South Ribble lost 3.1% of their value, giving an average price of £208,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Wirral spent an average of £177,500 on their property – £4,600 more than a year ago, and £44,100 more than in April 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £241,600 on average in April – 36.1% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Wirral in April – they dropped 0.3% in price, to £355,517 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 2%.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: up 0% monthly; up 3% annually; £237,397 average

Terraced: down 0.2% monthly; up 2.8% annually; £161,570 average

Flats: up 0.1% monthly; up 1.5% annually; £123,869 average

How do property prices in Wirral compare?

Buyers paid 2.9% less than the average price in the North West (£217,000) in April for a property in Wirral. Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £281,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £365,000 on average, and 1.7 times the price as in Wirral. Trafford properties cost 3.4 times the price as homes in Burnley (£108,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea.

Average property price in April

Wirral: £210,512

The North West: £216,714

UK: £281,373

Annual growth to April

Wirral: +2.5%

The North West: +3.8%

UK: +1.1%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the North West

Ribble Valley: +10.6%

South Ribble: -3.1%