House prices across much of the UK continue to rise – despite wages leaving many struggles to get onto the property ladder.
But Manchester has actually seen a drop in prices, an average house in the city costing £253,061 in the year to October.
According to the Land Registry data, that’s a drop in 2.3 per cent compared to the previous year – equivalent to each house costing £1,732 less.
In nearby Lancashire, the cost of buying a home has gone up, with some council areas being among the UK’s property hotspots.
The average house price in our county was £195,665 in the 12 months to October, according to the latest figures.
That’s an increase of 4.6 per cent compared to a year earlier, equivalent to an extra £8,529 on each home. But that’s still better than the UK average, with prices rising by 3.4 per cent over the last year to £292,059.
Two areas in the region though are in the top 10 hotspots in the country. Blackburn with Darwen has seen the average cost of buying a home there increase by 10.5 per cent over the last 12 months. The average house price there is now £159,805.
In Pendle, meanwhile, the average house price has increased by 10.4 per cent to £146,516.
It means properties in Blackburn and Darwen are £15,247 more expensive than a year earlier, on average, while in Pendle they’re £13,789 more expensive.
The Shetland Islands is the UK’s property hotspot.
The average house price there is £225,587. That’s 28.2 per cent higher than a year earlier, which is a larger jump than any other local authority in the country, and works out as an extra £8,051 per house.
Tewkesbury has seen the next largest growth in house prices, with the average property costing 12.6 per cent more than it did a year earlier.
That’s followed by Bridgend (10.8 per cent) Blaenau Gwent (10.6 per cent), Blackburn with Darwen (10.5 per cent and Pendle (10.4 per cent).
Prices are falling in many areas though, with parts of London experiencing the biggest drops in the country.
The average home in Kensington and Chelsea cost over £1.1 million in the year to October.
That’s a fall of £50,589 per house compared to a year earlier, which works out as a drop of 20.3 per cent and is the largest of any local authority in the UK.
The City of London has seen the next largest drop with homes costing 18.3 per cent less than a year earlier, equivalent to £9,505 per house.
Hammersmith and Fulham have the next largest drop at 10.5 per cent equivalent to £21,386 per home.
North Devon has seen the next largest fall in average prices at 7.8 per cent, followed by Camden with a drop of 6.2 per cent, Gwynedd with a drop of 5.1 per cent, the Isle of Wight with a drop of 5.0 per cent, Islington with a drop of 4.9 per cent and the City of Westminster with a drop of 4.4 per cent.