Wigan house prices dropped more than North West average in March

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 8.2 per cent over the last year.

The average Wigan house price in March was £184,825, Land Registry figures show – a 2.3 per cent decrease on February.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the North West, where prices decreased 1.3 per cent, and Wigan was lower than the 1.2 per cent drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Wigan rose by £14,000 – putting the area 11th among the North West’s 35 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Fylde, where property prices increased on average by 14.3 per cent, to £247,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Blackpool gained 0.7 per cent in value, giving an average price of £130,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Wigan spent an average of £163,000 on their property – £12,000 more than a year ago, and £50,000 more than in March 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £207,000 on average in March – 26.6 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest fall in property prices Wigan in March – they dropped three per cent in price, to £139,885 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 7.3 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 1.4 per cent monthly; up 10.1 annually; £314,835 average

Semi-detached: down 2.2 per cent monthly; up 8.3 annually; £186,486 average

Flats: down 2.5 per cent monthly; up 6.2 per cent annually; £96,638 average

How do property prices in Wigan compare?

Buyers paid 12.7 per cent less than the average price in the North West (£212,000) in March for a property in Wigan. Across the North West, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £285,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £361,000 on average, and twice as much as more than in Wigan. Trafford properties cost 3.1 times as much as homes in Burnley (£115,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

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