Ribble Valley house prices increased more than North West average in July

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 6% over the last year.

The average Ribble Valley house price in July was £279,587, Land Registry figures show – a 3.5% increase on June.

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

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Ribble Valley rose by £16,000 – putting the area fourth 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 Ribble Valley spent an average of £227,000 on their property – £12,000 more than a year ago, and £47,000 more than in July 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £309,000 on average in July – 36.1% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Ribble Valley in July – they increased 3.6%, to £268,449 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 6%.

Detached: up 3.6% monthly; up 8% annually; £441,548 average

Terraced: up 3.5% monthly; up 4% annually; £200,236 average

Flats: up 3.1% monthly; up 3.6% annually; £168,477 average

How do property prices in Ribble Valley compare?

Buyers paid 29.6% more than the average price in the North West (£216,000) in July for a property in Ribble Valley. 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 1.3 times the price as in Ribble Valley. 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.