New year price boost for home owners

Land Registry figures show house prices in the area increased by 3.2% in January – contributing to the longer-term trend, which has seen values increase by 6.3% annually.

The average house price in Northumberland rose to £181,261, with the increase on December well above both the North East average increase of 1.7%, and the 0.4% for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in the area increased by £11,000.

Owners of flats saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Northumberland in January. They increased in value by 3.5% to an average of £91,771 – up by 0.6% over the last year.

Detached home values rose by 2.8% on the month – up 9.7% annually – to an average of £313,738.

The value of a semi-detached home wads up by 3.3% monthly – up 6.1% annually – to £170,670 on average.

The price of a terraced home rose by 3.4% monthly – up 4.3% annually – to an average of £140,112.

First-time buyers in Northumberland spent an average of £146,200 on their property – £7,700 more than a year ago, and £24,500 more than in January 2017.

Buyers paid 20.2% more for a home than the average price in the North East – £151,000.

The best annual growth in the region was in Hartlepool, where property prices increased on average by 12.6% to an average of £130,000.

The most expensive properties in the North East in January were in Newcastle – at £186,000 on average.