House prices increased by 3.5% in Preston in July, new Land Registry figures show

House prices increased by 3.5% – more than the average for the North West – in Preston in July, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 7.1% over the last year.

The average Preston house price in July was £166,243, Land Registry figures show – a 3.5% increase on June.

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

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Preston rose by £11,000 – putting the area second 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 9.1%, to £242,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Halton lost 2.6% of their value, giving an average price of £180,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Preston spent an average of £136,000 on their property – £8,300 more than a year ago, and £30,900 more than in July 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £193,400 on average in July – 42.1% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Preston in July – they increased 3.7%, to £315,037 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 10.1%.

Among other types of property:

How do property prices in Preston compare?

Buyers paid 22.9% less than the average price in the North West (£216,000) in July for a property in Preston. Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £290,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £362,000 on average, and 2.2 times the price as in Preston. Trafford properties cost 3.2 times the price as homes in Burnley (£114,000 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 July

• Preston: £166,243
• The North West:£215,648
• UK: £289,824

Annual growth to July

• Preston: +7.1%
• The North West: +1%
• UK: +0.6%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the North West

• West Lancashire: +9.1%
• Halton: -2.6%