Wigan house prices continue to rise

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 14.5 per cent annual growth.

The average Wigan house price in July was £181,885, Land Registry figures show – up 1.8 per cent on June.

Over the month, the picture was less good than that across the North West, where prices increased 2.5 per cent, and Wigan underperformed compared to the two per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Across the UK, the the average UK house price leapt by 15.5 per cent in the year to July, marking the biggest increase in 19 years.

But the increase in annual inflation was mainly because of “a base effect” from the falls in prices seen this time last year, as a result of changes in the stamp duty holiday, the ONS said.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Wigan rose by £23,000 – putting the area seventh among the North West’s 39 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Hyndburn, where property prices increased on average by 16.4 per cent, to £134,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Pendle gained just 4.4 per cent in value, giving an average price of £130,000.

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Wigan in July: they increased 1.9 per cent, to £139,576 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 13.6 per cent.

Among other types of property, detached homes were up 1.4 per cent monthly and 16 per cent annually to a £303,199 average.

Semi-detached home prices rose 1.8 per cent in the month and 14 annually to £183,307 average.

A prices of flats increased 1.7 per cent for the month and 9.7 for the year to a £95,549 average.

First-time buyers in Wigan spent an average of £161,000 on their property – £20,000 more than a year ago, and £47,000 more than in July 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £203,000 on average in July – 25.8 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Wigan buyers paid 16.2 per cent less than the average price in the North West (£217,000) in July. Across the North West, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £292,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £363,000 on average, and twice as much as more than in Wigan. Trafford properties cost three times as much as homes in Burnley (£120,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

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