Average house price in Preston rises to 0.5 per cent

The average Preston house price in October was £160,622, Land Registry figures show – a 0.5 per cent increase on September. The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 10.2 per cent over the last year. Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the north west, where prices increased 0.5 per cent, and Preston was above the 0.3 per cent rise for the UK as a whole. Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Preston rose by £15,000 – putting the area 34th among the north west’s 39 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Warrington, where property prices increased on average by 17.6 per cent to £267,000. Average UK house prices increased by 12.6 per cent in the year to October, accelerating from 9.9 per cent in September. The increase in the annual percentage change was partly caused by a sharp fall in average house prices in October 2021, following changes to stamp duty.

Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said: “Despite today’s figures, double-digit UK house price growth is now a thing of the past. Even as the reverberations of the mini-budget fade, a more adverse lending landscape is emerging after 13 years of ultra-low rates."

First-time buyers in Preston spent an average of £132,000 on their property – £12,000 more than a year ago, and £24,000 more than in October 2017. By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £186,000 on average in October – 41 per cent more than first-time buyers. Buyers paid 27.1 per cent less than the average price in the North West (£220,000) in October for a property in Preston. Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £296,000.

The most expensive properties in the north west were in Trafford – £374,000 on average, and 2.3 times as much as more than in Preston. Trafford properties cost 3.1 times as much as homes in Burnley (£120,000 average), at the other end of the scale.