HOUSE prices dropped slightly in Wirral in June, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 0.3% over the last year.

The average Wirral house price in June was £208,910, Land Registry figures show – a 0.6% decrease on May.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the North West, where prices increased 0.3%, and Wirral was lower than the 0.5% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Wirral rose by £650 – putting the area 29th among the North West’s 35 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Cheshire East, where property prices increased on average by 10.2%, to £301,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Pendle lost 2.9% of their value, giving an average price of £128,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Wirral spent an average of £176,180 on their property – £660 more than a year ago, and £43,470 more than in June 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £239,720 on average in June – 36.1% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of flats saw the biggest fall in property prices in Wirral in June – they dropped 0.9% in price, to £122,756 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 1.6%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 0.8% monthly; up 0.1% annually; £352,259 average

Semi-detached: down 0.7% monthly; up 0.8% annually; £235,214 average

Terraced: down 0.3% monthly; up 0.7% annually; £160,951 average

How do property prices in Wirral compare?

Buyers paid 5.2% less than the average price in the North West (£220,000) in June for a property in Wirral. Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £288,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £375,000 on average, and 1.8 times the price as in Wirral. Trafford properties cost 3.3 times the price as homes in Burnley (£112,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in (insert LA with highest house price).

Factfile

Average property price in June

Wirral: £208,910

The North West: £220,441

UK: £287,924

Annual growth to June

Wirral: +0.3%

The North West: +3.7%

UK: +2.7%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the North West

Cheshire East: +10.2%

Pendle: -2.9%