Northumberland house prices remain steady, despite cost-of-living crisis affecting housing market

Nationally, more recent data shows prices have dropped entering 2023, with estate agents blaming Liz Truss' disastrous autumn mini-budget for the fall in activity as some buyers were forced to renegotiate on price due to reduced affordability.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show the median house in Northumberland cost £170,000 in the year to September – in line with the year to June.

In the year to March 2022, it was £178,000.

Nationally, house prices fell for the first time since 2011 from £279,000 in September 2021 to £270,000 last year, while further ONS figures show prices fell further at the start of 2023.

The recent fall in price follows more than a decade of steady rises after the 2008 financial crash.

Nicky Stevenson, managing director at estate agent group Fine & Country said: "A significant proportion of the sales completed at the beginning of the year had to weather the impact of autumn's mini-budget and sudden rise in mortgage rates and many buyers will have renegotiated on price as a result of changing affordability."

The figures also show the median average income for a full-time employee in Northumberland was £30,799 in the year to September.

It meant full-time-working house hunters needed 5.5 times their income to buy a home.

However, a decade ago, the average house cost £137,000, while the average wage was £24,490.

It meant the price of a home was 5.6 times the average full-time annual wage, with houses now 1% more affordable than 10 years before.