Preston house prices dropped more than North West average in May, new figures show

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 5% over the last year.

The average Preston house price in May was £158,204, Land Registry figures show – a 0.6% decrease on April.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the North West, where prices decreased 0.2%, and Preston was lower than the UK as a whole, where prices did not change.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Preston rose by £7,500 – 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 West Lancashire, where property prices increased on average by 12%, to £239,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Hyndburn lost 1.3% of their value, giving an average price of £118,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Preston spent an average of £129,400 on their property – £5,600 more than a year ago, and £24,900 more than in May 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £184,100 on average in May – 42.3% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Preston in May – they dropped 0.7% in price, to £122,060 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 3.1%.

Among other types of property:

- Detached: down 0.5% monthly; up 7.8% annually; £301,488 average

- Semi-detached: down 0.7% monthly; up 4.8% annually; £177,512 average

- Flats: down 0.3% monthly; up 5.4% annually; £86,705 average

How do property prices in Preston compare?

Buyers paid 25.3% less than the average price in the North West (£212,000) in May for a property in Preston. Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £286,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £360,000 on average, and 2.3 times the price as in Preston. Trafford properties cost 3.2 times the price as homes in Burnley (£111,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

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