Home prices in St Helens rose in December

The increase adds to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the region rise by 17.5% over the past year.

The average house price in St Helens in December was £184,912, land registry figures show – up 2.4% from November.

Over the month the picture was different from the North West where prices fell 0.1% and St Helens was above the 0.4% decline for the UK as a whole.

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Over the last year, the average selling price of property in St Helens has increased by £28,000 – putting the area fourth among the 39 local authorities in the North West with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in West Lancashire, where house prices rose by an average of 23.8% to £244,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in South Lakeland appreciated by 5.9% to an average price of £287,000.

The average house price in the UK was £294,000 in December 2022, £26,000 more than 12 months earlier.

That meant prices rose 9.8% annually in December, slowing from 10.6% annual growth in November, according to the Bureau for National Statistics.

Getting started on the property ladder First-time buyers in St Helens spent an average of £166,000 on their property – £25,000 more than a year ago and £54,000 more than in December 2017.

By way of comparison, former owner-occupiers paid an average of £207,000 in December – 24.7% more than first-time buyers.

Property Types Single family home owners saw the biggest rise in house prices in St Helens in December – rising 2.6% to an average of £309,583. Last year prices increased by 17.6%.

Among other property types: semi-detached: up 2.5% monthly; up 17.8% annually; average £192,143 terraced house: up 2.3% monthly; up 17.6% annually; £143,009 average homes: up 2.6% monthly; up 13% annually; £99,966 average How do property prices in St Helens compare?

Buyers paid 16.4% less than the average North West price (£221,000) for a property in St Helens in December. Property prices in the North West are lower than across the UK where the average is £294,000.

The most expensive property in the North West was in Trafford – averaging £384,000 and 2.1 times that of St Helens. Property in Trafford costs 3.3 times as much as houses in Burnley (£118,000 on average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest house prices in the UK were recorded in Kensington and Chelsea.

Factfile Average house price in December St Helens: £184,912 The North West: £221,101 UK: £294,329 Annual growth to December St Helens: +17.5% The North West: +12.2% UK: +9.8% Highest and lowest annual growth in North West West Lancashire: +23.8% Southern Lakeland: +5.9%