House prices slump in Hartlepool

According to the latest figures from the Land Registry house prices in the area decreased by 4.7% in October.

The decrease contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area fall by 4.4% over the year.

That means the average price of a house in the area in October was £105,842 – a 4.7% decrease on September.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the North East, where prices decreased 0.3%, and Hartlepool also underperformed compared to the 0.7% rise for the country as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Hartlepool remained level – putting the area bottom among the North East’s 13 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Northumberland, where property prices increased on average by 8.2%, to £167,000.

Owners of flats fared worst in the area in October. Prices dropped by 5.5% to an average of £57,606. Over the last year, prices have fallen by 8.1%.

The price of a detached home fell by 4.4% on the month – down 3.2% annually to an average of £182,719.

Semi-detached house prices fell by 4.8% over the month – down 4.2% annually to an average of £109,133.

Te price of a terraced home fell by 4.9% on September – down 5.1% over the year to an average of £76,198.

First-time buyers in Hartlepool spent an average of £89,200 on their property – £4,400 less than a year ago, and only £1,900 more than in September 2015.

Buyers in the area paid less for properties in Hartlepool during October than anywhere else in the North East - where the average house price was £136,000.

Across the North East, property prices remain low compared to those across the UK, where the average home cost £245,000.

The most expensive properties in the North East were in North Tyneside – £174,000 on average.

The highest property prices in the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average October sale price was £1.3m.