Should I buy a house now? House prices in Blackpool are falling making an ideal time for first time buyers

House prices dropped by 1.6% – more than the average for the North West – in Blackpool in January, new figures show.

The drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 3.2% annual decline.

The average Blackpool house price in January was £132,545, Land Registry figures show – a 1.6% decrease on December.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the North West, where prices decreased 0.6%, and Blackpool was lower than the 0.5% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Blackpool fell by £4,400 – putting the area 29th 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 8%, to £240,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Burnley lost 12.1% of their value, giving an average price of £101,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Blackpool spent an average of £118,200 on their property – £4,000 less than a year ago, but £25,400 more than in January 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £142,400 on average in January – 20.4% more than first-time buyers.

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Property types

Owners of flats saw the biggest fall in property prices in Blackpool in January – they dropped 1.8% in price, to £79,275 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 4.9%.

Among other types of property:

• Detached: down 1.4% monthly; down 3% annually; £216,982 average
• Semi-detached: down 1.4% monthly; down 2.3% annually; £152,554 average
• Terraced: down 1.6% monthly; down 3.9% annually; £113,022 average

How do property prices in Blackpool compare?

Buyers paid 38.4% less than the average price in the North West (£215,000) in January for a property in Blackpool. Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £282,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £352,000 on average, and 2.7 times the price as in Blackpool. Trafford properties cost 3.5 times the price as homes in Burnley (£101,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, at £1.2 million.

Factfile

Average property price in January

• Blackpool: £132,545
• The North West: £215,082
• UK: £281,913

Annual change to January

• Blackpool: -3.2%
• The North West: +1%
• UK: -0.6%

Highest and lowest annual growth in the North West

• West Lancashire: +8%
• Burnley: -12.1%