Good news for Northumberland property owners

Northumberland house prices increased more than North East average in January.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 6.3% annual growth.

The average Northumberland house cost £181,261 in January, Land Registry figures show – a 3.2% increase compared to December.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across the North East, where prices increased 1.7%, and Northumberland outperformed the 0.4% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Northumberland rose by £11,000 – putting the area ninth among the North East’s 12 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Hartlepool, where property prices increased on average by 12.6%, to £130,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Gateshead gained just 3.3% in value, giving an average price of £141,000.

Owners of flats saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Northumberland in January – they increased by 3.5%, to £91,771 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 0.6%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: prices up 2.8% monthly; up 9.7% annually; £313,738 average

Semi-detached: up 3.3% monthly; up 6.1% annually; £170,670 average

Terraced: up 3.4% monthly; up 4.3% annually; £140,112 average

First-time buyers in Northumberland spent an average of £146,200 on their property – £7,700 more than a year ago, and £24,500 more than in January 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £209,700 on average in January – 43.5% more than first-time buyers.

Buyers paid 20.2% more than the average price in the North East (£151,000) in January for a property in Northumberland. Across the North East, property prices are high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £274,000.

The most expensive properties in the North East were in Newcastle – £186,000 on average, and 2% more than in Northumberland. Newcastle properties cost 1.6 times as much as homes in County Durham (£119,000 average), at the other end of the scale.