Bolton house prices dropped slightly in July

House prices dropped slightly, by 0.8%, in Bolton in July, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 3.2% over the last year.

The average Bolton house price in July was £185,744, Land Registry figures show – a 0.8% decrease on June.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the North West, where prices increased 0.3%, and Bolton was lower than the 0.5% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Bolton rose by £5,800 – putting the area 12th among the North West’s 35 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in West Lancashire, where property prices increased on average by 9.1%, to £242,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Halton lost 2.6% of their value, giving an average price of £180,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Bolton spent an average of £154,700 on their property – £4,300 more than a year ago, and £41,700 more than in July 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £206,900 on average in July – 33.8% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of flats saw the biggest fall in property prices in Bolton in July – they dropped 1.2% in price, to £111,877 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 2.9%.

Among other types of property:

• Detached: down 0.9% monthly; up 4.5% annually; £336,346 average
• Semi-detached: down 0.8% monthly; up 3.4% annually; £198,969 average
• Terraced: down 0.6% monthly; up 2.5% annually; £146,704 average

How do property prices in Bolton compare?

Buyers paid 13.9% less than the average price in the North West (£216,000) in July for a property in Bolton. Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £290,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £362,000 on average, and twice the price as in Bolton. Trafford properties cost 3.2 times the price as homes in Burnley (£114,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea.

Factfile

Average property price in July

• Bolton: £185,744
• The North West:£215,648
• UK: £289,824

Annual growth to July

• Bolton: +3.2%
• The North West: +1%
• UK: +0.6%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the North West

• West Lancashire: +9.1%
• Halton: -2.6%