House prices dropped by 2.5 per cent in Cumberland in March, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 1.9 per cent over the last year.

The average Cumberland house price in March was £163,394. Land Registry figures show a 2.5 per cent decrease on February.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the North West, where prices increased 1.1 per cent, and Cumberland was lower than the 0.7 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Cumberland rose by £3,000 – putting the area 20th 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 12.3 per cent, to £246,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Burnley lost 8.2 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £103,000.

First-time buyers in Cumberland spent an average of £139,500 on their property – £2,700 more than a year ago, and £22,400 more than in March 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £186,900 on average in March – 33.9 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Property types:

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Cumberland in March – they dropped 3 per cent in price, to £129,588 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 1 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 1.9 per cent monthly; up 3 per cent annually; £262,564 average

Semi-detached: down 2.4 per cent monthly; up 2.8 per cent annually; £163,606 average

Flats: down 2.6 per cent monthly; down 0.5 per cent annually; £95,703 average

How do property prices in Cumberland compare?

Buyers paid 24.5 per cent less than the average price in the North West (£217,000) in March for a property in Cumberland. Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £283,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £357,000 on average, and 2.2 times the price as in Cumberland. Trafford properties cost 3.5 times the price as homes in Burnley (£103,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

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

Average property price in March:

Cumberland: £163,394

The North West: £216,501

UK: £282,776

Annual growth to March:

Cumberland: +1.9%

The North West: +3.8%

UK: +1.8%