New year hit for Hartlepool home owners

Average house prices decreased in the area in January, according to new Land Registry figures – and this contributed to the longer-term trend, which has seen property values in the area fall by 2.5% over the year.

The average house price in Hartlepool in January was £107,757 – which represents a 3.1% decrease on December.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the North East, where prices decreased by 1.3%, and the market in Hartlepool also underperformed compared to a 0.5% price drop nationally.

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 13.7%, to £173,000.

Owners of flats fared worst in January. Prices dropped by 4.2% to an average of £57,880. That means that, over the last year, prices have dropped by 6.6%.

Owners of detached homes saw their value drop by 3.3% on the month – down 1.6% annually – to an average selling price of £185,600.

The price of semi-detached properties fell by 3% on the month – 2.6% annually – to an average price of £110,998.

The value of terraced homes was down by 3% monthly – falling by 2.6% annually – to an average of £77,899.

First-time buyers in Hartlepool spent an average of £90,900 on their property.

This was £2,600 less than a year ago, but £2,700 more than in December 2015.

Buyers in January paid less for properties in Hartlepool than anywhere else in the North East where the average house price was £138,000 but regional property prices remain comparatively low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £249,000.

The most expensive properties in the North East were in North Tyneside – £178,000 on average.

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