House prices dropped slightly in Northampton in March...with terraced homes falling the most

House prices dropped slightly in Northampton in March, new figures show.

The drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 0.4% annual decline.

The average Northampton house price in March was £211,336, Land Registry figures show – a 0.4% decrease on February.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Northampton remained level – putting the area 28th among the East Midlands’s 40 local authorities for annual growth.

Owners of terraced houses fared worst in Northampton in March – they dropped 0.7% in price, to £177,999 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 0.2%.

Among other types of property, detached remained level over the month; down 0.3% annually; £362,955 average; Semi-detached was down 0.1% monthly; up 0.2% annually; £218,811 average; and flats were down 0.6% monthly; down 2.6% annually; £125,640 average

First-time buyers in Northampton spent an average of £187,000 on their property – £1,100 less than a year ago, and £40,500 more than in March 2015.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £233,600 on average in March – 24.9% more than first-time buyers.

Buyers paid 8.6% more than the average price in the East Midlands (£195,000) in March for a property in Northampton. Across the East Midlands, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £232,000.

The most expensive properties in the East Midlands were in South Northamptonshire – £327,000 on average, and 1.5 times as much as in Northampton. South Northamptonshire properties cost 2.6 times as much as homes in Bolsover (£124,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average March sale price of £1.4 million could buy 16 properties in Burnley (average £86,000).

Factfile

Average property price in March

Northampton: £211,336

The East Midlands: £194,664

UK: £231,855

Annual growth to March

Northampton: -0.4%

The East Midlands: +2.1%

UK: +2.1%

Best and worst annual growth in the East Midlands

Leicester: +12.4%

East Lindsey: -5.7%