House prices dropped by 1.7% in Wirral in July, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 15.7% annual growth.

The average Wirral house price in July was £183,982, Land Registry figures show – a 1.7% decrease on June.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across the North West, where prices decreased 7.6%, and Wirral outperformed the 3.7% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Wirral rose by £25,000 – putting the area seventh among the North West’s 43 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Rossendale, where property prices increased on average by 19.9%, to £169,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Hyndburn gained 4.4% in value, giving an average price of £105,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of terraced houses fared worst in Wirral in July – they dropped 2% in price, to £139,829 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 16.2%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 1.4% monthly; up 16.7% annually; £312,163 average

Semi-detached: down 1.6% monthly; up 15.2% annually; £204,301 average

Flats: down 1.8% monthly; up 15% annually; £114,369 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Wirral spent an average of £155,000 on their property – £21,000 more than a year ago, and £30,000 more than in July 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £211,000 on average in July – 36.2% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Wirral compare?

Buyers paid 0.6% less than the average price in the North West (£185,000) in July for a property in Wirral. Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £256,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £324,000 on average, and 1.8 times as much as in Wirral. Trafford properties cost 3.2 times as much as homes in Burnley (£101,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average July sale price of £1.3 million could buy 13 properties in Burnley (average £101,000).

Factfile

Average property price in July

  • Wirral: £183,982
  • The North West: £185,171
  • UK: £255,535

Annual growth to July

  • Wirral: +15.7%
  • The North West: +8.1%
  • UK: +8%

Best and worst annual growth in the North West

  • Rossendale: +19.9%
  • Hyndburn: +4.4%