On the up: Wigan house prices enjoy increase

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 5.5 per cent over the last year.

The average Wigan house price in August was £194,593. Land Registry figures show a 1.2 per cent increase on July.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the North West, where prices increased 2.4 per cent, and Wigan was lower than the 1.5 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Wigan rose by £10,000 – putting the area ninth 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 9.2 per cent, to £249,000.

At the other end of the scale, properties in Hyndburn lost 1.6 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £127,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Wigan spent an average of £173,600 on their property – £9,500 more than a year ago, and £52,800 more than in August 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £215,100 on average in August – 23.9 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Wigan in August – they increased 1.5 per cent, to £151,038 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 4.8 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 0.6 per cent monthly; up 6.5 per cent annually; £316,694 average

Semi-detached: up 1.1 per cent monthly; up 5.9 per cent annually; £197,378 average

Flats: up 1.2 per cent monthly; up 3.3 per cent annually; £103,150 average

How do property prices in Wigan compare?

Buyers paid 13.6 per cent less than the average price in the North West (£225,000) in August for a property in Wigan.

Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £293,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £380,000 on average, and twice the price as in Wigan. Trafford properties cost 3.4 times the price as homes in Burnley (£113,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

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