House prices increased by 4.2 per cent across the Cumberland council area in December, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 4.6 per cent over the last year.

The average Cumberland house price in December was £178,108, Land Registry figures show – a 4.2 per cent increase on November and more than the average for the North West.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the North West, where prices increased 2.5 per cent, and Cumberland was above the 0.1 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Cumberland rose by £7,900 – 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 9.8 per cent, to £253,000. 

First-time buyers in Cumberland spent an average of £151,500 on their property – £6,500 more than a year ago, and £34,600 more than in December 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £204,400 on average in December – 34 per cent more than first-time buyers.

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Buyers paid 18.4 per cent less than the average price in the North West (£218,000) in December for a property in Cumberland. Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £285,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £366,000 on average, and 2.1 times the price as in Cumberland. Trafford properties cost 3.4 times the price as homes in Burnley (£107,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

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