Oldham house prices dropped in April
House prices dropped by 2.4% in Oldham in April, new figures show.
But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 9.6% over the last year.
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Hide AdAn imbalance between supply and demand for properties has remained the primary reason behind climbing house prices across the UK throughout the pandemic.
The need for larger deposits and constraints on accessing mortgages have pushed homeownership further out of reach for many first-time buyers – despite Government figures showing 50% of renters would be able to afford the monthly payments.
In a recent major speech in Blackpool, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a “comprehensive review” of the mortgage market would take place in a bid to help more people onto the property ladder.
The average Oldham house price in April was £177,328, Land Registry figures show – a 2.4% decrease on March.
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Hide AdOver the month, the picture was different to that across the North West, where prices increased 2%, and Oldham was lower than the 1.1% rise for the UK as a whole.
Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Oldham rose by £15,000 – putting the area 27th among the North West’s 39 local authorities with price data for annual growth.
The highest annual growth in the region was in Burnley, where property prices increased on average by 18.6%, to £119,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Pendle gained just 2.7% in value, giving an average price of £125,000.
First steps on the property ladder
First-time buyers in Oldham spent an average of £159,000 on their property – £13,000 more than a year ago, and £48,000 more than in April 2017.
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Hide AdBy comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £197,000 on average in April – 23.9% more than first-time buyers.
Property types
Owners of flats saw the biggest fall in property prices Oldham in April – they dropped 2.9% in price, to £121,514 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 4.6%.
Among other types of property:
Detached: down 2.2% monthly; up 12.7% annually; £320,835 averageSemi-detached: down 2.4% monthly; up 10.4% annually; £199,507 averageTerraced: down 2.3% monthly; up 8.9% annually; £144,234 average
How do property prices in Oldham compare?
Buyers paid 15.1% less than the average price in the North West (£209,000) in April for a property in Oldham. Across the North West, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £281,000.
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Hide AdThe most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £347,000 on average, and twice as much as more than in Oldham. Trafford properties cost 2.9 times as much as homes in Burnley (£119,000 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 April
Oldham: £177,328The North West:£208,867UK: £281,161
Annual growth to April
Oldham: +9.6%The North West: +13.3%UK: +12.4%
Highest and lowest annual growth in the North West
Burnley: +18.6%Pendle: +2.7%