House prices take August hit in Hartlepool

​The ​three per cent drop ​on the figures in July contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area ​fall by 3.4% over the year.

The average housed price in the area in August was £104,536, according to Land Registry figures.

Over the month, the picture was ​the worst in the North East, where prices ​remained static​ with an average sale price of £131,701.

Nationally house prices rose by 0.7% in August.

The fall comes despite the Government raising the threshold on which Stamp Duty is paid from £125,000 to £500,000.

This emergency measure is due to run until March in a bid to support the housing market – which effectively ground to a halt in the early days of the coronavirus crisis.

The best annual growth in the region was seen in in Redcar and Cleveland, where properties increased on average by 6.5%, to £127,000.

Owners of flats fared worst in Hartlepool in August.

Prices dropped by 3.8% to an average of £57,657​. That means that, over the last year, prices have dropped by 5.9%.

The price of detached homes in the area fell by three per cent over the month to an average of £179,,056 – also down down by three pet cent over the year.

The cost of buying a semi-detached house in the area was also down by three per cent on the month to an average of £108,238.

Over the year, that is a 2.7% fall in value.

The prices being paid for terraced homes was also down by three per cent on the month to an average of £75,371 – a 4.1% annual drop.

First-time buyers in Hartlepool spent an average of £​88,400 on their property – ​£3,200 less than a year ago, ​and ​£1,200 less than in August 2015.

​Nationally, the average cost of a home rose to £239,000.

The most expensive average property prices in the North East were in North Tyneside – £168,000.

The highest property prices in the country were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average August sale price was £1.4.