House prices increased by 1.5 per cent in Oldham in February, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 13.5 per cent annual growth.

The average Oldham house price in February was £180,063, Land Registry figures show – a 1.5 per cent increase on January.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the North West, where prices increased 1.6 per cent, but Oldham outperformed the 0.5 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Oldham rose by £21,000 – putting the area ninth among the North West’s 39 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Hyndburn, where property prices increased on average by 19.2 per cent, to £124,000.

At the other end of the scale, properties in Fylde gained just 3.7 per cent in value, giving an average price of £218,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Oldham in February – they increased 1.8 per cent, to £326,753 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 17.3 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: up 1.4 per cent monthly; up 13.8 per cent annually; £201,977 average

Terraced: up 1.4 per cent monthly; up 13.1 per cent annually; £146,724 average

Flats: up 1.5 per cent monthly; up 8.9 per cent annually; £123,298 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Oldham spent an average of £161,000 on their property – £19,000 more than a year ago, and £50,000 more than in February 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £201,000 on average in February – 24.4 per cent more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Oldham compare?

Buyers paid 11.5 per cent less than the average price in the North West (£204,000) in February for a property in Oldham.

Across the North West, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £277,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £351,000 on average, and twice as much as more than in Oldham.

Trafford properties cost 3.1 times as much as homes in Burnley (£112,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

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

Factfile

Average property price in February

Oldham: £180,063

The North West: £203,538

UK: £276,755

Annual growth to February

Oldham: +13.5 per cent

The North West: +10.2 per cent

UK: +10.9 per cent

Best and worst annual growth in the North West

Hyndburn: +19.2 per cent

Fylde: +3.7 per cent