This is what the pandemic has done to house prices in South Tyneside

​But the ​drop ​does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area ​achieve 3.5% annual growth​.

The average South Tyneside house price in March was £132,321, Land Registry figures show​ – a 0.4% decrease on February.

Over the month, the picture was ​similar to that across the North East, where prices ​decreased 0.6%​, but South Tyneside underperformed compared to the 0.2% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in South Tyneside ​​rose by £4,500 – putting the ​area fifth among the North East’s 12 local authorities for annual growth.

​The best annual growth in the region was in Middlesbrough, where properties increased on average by 10.1%, to £119,000. ​At the other end of the scale, properties in County Durham dropped 1.2% in value, giving an average price of £96,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of flats fared worst in South Tyneside in March – they dropped 0.6% in price, to £80,839 on average​. But over the last year, prices rose by 1.5%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 0.4% monthly; up 4.1% annually; £245,266 average

Semi-detached: down 0.4% monthly; up 3.9% annually; £146,903 average

Terraced: down 0.5% monthly; up 3.8% annually; £115,414 average

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First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in South Tyneside spent an average of £​118,100 on their property – ​£3,900 more than a year ago, ​and ​£13,600 more than in March 2015.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £​146,400 on average in March​ – 23.9% more than first-time buyers.

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How do property prices in South Tyneside compare?

​Buyers paid 4.2% more than the average price in the North East (£127,000) in March for a property in South Tyneside. Across the North East, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £232,000.

The most expensive properties in the North East were in North Tyneside – £160,000 on average, and 1.2 times as much as in South Tyneside. North Tyneside properties cost 1.7 times as much as homes in County Durham (£96,000 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

South Tyneside: £132,321

The North East: £126,945

UK: £231,855

Annual growth to March

South Tyneside: +3.5%

The North East: +1.8%

UK: +2.1%

Best and worst annual growth in the North East

Middlesbrough: +10.1%

County Durham: -1.2%