Wigan house prices increased slightly in December

But the rise does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 2.8 per cent annual decline.

The average Wigan house price in December was £183,846, Land Registry figures show – a 0.6 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 Wigan 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 Wigan fell by £5,200 – putting the area 26th 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 Wigan spent an average of £162,700 on their property – £4,900 less than a year ago, but £44,300 more than in December 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £205,300 on average in December – 26.2 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Wigan in December – they increased one per cent, to £311,485 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 0.8 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: up 0.9 per cent monthly; down two per cent annually; £186,775 average

Terraced: up 0.1 per cent monthly; down 4.4 per cent annually; £138,977 average

Flats: up 0.5 per cent monthly; down 4.3 per cent annually; £94,831 average.

Buyers paid 15.8 per cent less than the average price in the North West (£218,000) in December for a property in Wigan. 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 twice the price as in Wigan. 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.