HOUSE prices increased by 1.6% in Wirral in August, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 4.9% over the last year.

The average Wirral house price in August was £219,467. Land Registry figures show a 1.6% increase on July.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the North West, where prices increased 2.4%, but Wirral was above the 1.5% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Wirral rose by £10,000 – putting the area 13th among the North West’s 35 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Fylde, where property prices increased on average by 9.2%, to £249,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Hyndburn lost 1.6% of their value, giving an average price of £127,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Wirral spent an average of £185,700 on their property – £9,400 more than a year ago, and £48,700 more than in August 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £250,900 on average in August – 35.1% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Wirral in August – they increased 2.1%, to £170,278 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 5.5%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 1% monthly; up 3.7% annually; £366,070 average

Semi-detached: up 1.5% monthly; up 5.1% annually; £246,822 average

Flats: up 1.9% monthly; up 4.5% annually; £128,829 average

How do property prices in Wirral compare?

Buyers paid 2.6% less than the average price in the North West (£225,000) in August for a property in Wirral. Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £293,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £380,000 on average, and 1.7 times the price as in Wirral. Trafford properties cost 3.4 times the price as homes in Burnley (£113,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

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

Factfile

Average property price in August

Wirral: £219,467

The North West: £225,248

UK: £292,924

Annual growth to August

Wirral: +4.9%

The North West: +4.6%

UK: +2.8%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the North West

Fylde: +9.2%