House prices dropped by 1% in St Helens 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 0.1% over the last year.

The average St Helens house price in May was £180,694. Land Registry figures show a 1% decrease on April.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the North West, where prices increased 0.9%, and St Helens was lower than the 1.2% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in St Helens rose by £110 – putting the area 27th 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 10.9%, to £301,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Burnley lost 4.2% of their value, giving an average price of £106,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in St Helens spent an average of £162,260 on their property – £260 more than a year ago, and £46,160 more than in May 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £202,400 on average in May – 24.7% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in St Helens in May – they dropped 1.2% in price, to £140,165 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 0.3%.

Among other types of property: Detached: down 0.9% monthly; up 0.4% annually; £296,586 average Semi-detached: down 1% monthly; up 0.5% annually; £188,370 average Flats: down 0.9% monthly; down 2.2% annually; £102,805 average How do property prices in St Helens compare?

Buyers paid 16.9% less than the average price in the North West (£218,000) in May for a property in St Helens. Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £285,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £373,000 on average, and 2.1 times the price as in St Helens. Trafford properties cost 3.5 times the price as homes in Burnley (£106,000 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 May St Helens: £180,694

The North West: £217,525 UK: £285,201

Annual growth to May St Helens: +0.1%

The North West: +2.9%

UK: +2.2%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the North West

Cheshire East: +10.9%

Burnley: -4.2%