LATEST figures show that the average price of a house in Warrington is on the up.

House prices increased slightly by 0.7 per cent in the town in December, according to new figures for the latest available month.

But the rise does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a two per cent annual decline.

The average Warrington house price in December was £259,672, Land Registry figures show – a 0.7 per cent increase on November.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the north west, where prices increased 2.5 per cent, but Warrington was above the 0.1 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Warrington fell by £5,400 – putting the area 24th among the north west’s 35 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in West Lancashire, where property prices increased on average by 9.8 per cent to £253,000.

At the other end of the scale, properties in Hyndburn lost 7.8 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £120,000.

First-time buyers in Warrington spent an average of £213,000 on their property – £5,200 less than a year ago, but £50,600 more than in December 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £301,500 on average in December – 41.6 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Warrington in December – they increased 0.8 per cent to £256,288 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 1.6 per cent.

Detached properties are up 0.6 per cent monthly but down 0.8 per cent annually, with the average price being £445,953.

For terraced homes, the average is £201,160 – up 0.4 per cent monthly but down 3.2 per cent annually.

Meanwhile flats are up 0.8 per cent monthly and down 3.2 per cent annually, with the average prise sitting at £141,986.

Buyers paid 18.9 per cent more than the average price in the north west (£218,000) in December for a property in Warrington.

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 – £366,000 on average, and 1.4 times the price as in Warrington.

Trafford properties cost 3.4 times the price as homes in Burnley (£107,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea.