Northumberland house prices dropped more than North East average in December

The drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the county experience a 0.6% annual decline.

The average Northumberland house price in December was £195,232, Land Registry figures show – a 2.3% fall from November.

Prices decreased by 1.2% in the North East and Northumberland was also lower than the 0.1% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Northumberland fell by £1,300, putting the area sixth among the North East’s 12 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Newcastle, where property prices increased on average by 4.6% to £200,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Hartlepool lost 7.8% of their value, giving an average price of £124,000.

Buyers paid 23.9% more than the average price in the North East (£158,000) in December for a property in Northumberland.

First-time buyers in Northumberland spent an average of £157,800 on their property – £1,700 less than a year ago, but £33,000 more than in December 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £225,500 on average in December – 42.9% more than first-time buyers.

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Northumberland in December – they dropped 2.5% in price to £150,882 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 1.9%.