Hartlepool house prices take end of year hit

The 4.8% drop in prices in December does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 13.2% annual growth.

Land Registry figures show the average house price in Hartlepool in December was £126,039.

Over the month, that was worse than across the North East, where prices decreased by 1.5% – to an average of £147,000 - and below the average rise of 0.8% nationally.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in the area rose by £15,000.

Owners of flats fared worst in Hartlepool in December. Average prices dropped by 5.7% over the month to £65,887 on average – but, over the last year, prices rose by 8.1%.

The value of detached homes fell by 3.9% monthly – but remain up 17.8% annually – at an average of £225,042.

Semi-detached house values fell by 4.9% monthly but up 12.3% annually – to an average of £128,552.

Prices for terraced homes also fell by 5.2% over the month – but were up 11.1% annually – to an average of £89,745.

First-time buyers in Hartlepool spent an average of £106,000 on their property – £11,000 more than a year ago, and £15,000 more than in December 2016.

The figures show buyers in Hartlepool paid 14.4% less than the average price in the North East for a property.

Nationally the average price of a home in December was £275,000.