South Tyneside home owners finish the year in profit

The latest Land Registry figures show house prices dropped by 0.9%, in South Tyneside in December – but the drop did not reverse the longer-term trend, which saw property values increase by 2.2% over the year.

The average price of a house in South Tyneside in December was £138,200 – a 0.9% decrease on November.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the North East, where prices increased by 1.9%, and prices also lagged behind the national average rise of 1.2%.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in South Tyneside rose by £2,900 – putting the area 12th among the North East’s 13 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in County Durham, where property prices increased on average by 10.9%, to £114,000.

At the other end of the scale, properties in Hartlepool lost 3.8% of their value, giving an average price of £109,000.

Owners of detached houses fared worst in South Tyneside in December – with prices falling by 1.3% to an average of £255,815 – but, over the year, rose by 4%.

Owners of semi-detached homes saw their value fall by 0.9% on the month – but up by 2.4% annually to an average of £153,925.

The price of terraced houses fell by 0.8%, but were up 2.8% year-on-year to an average of £121,419.

The average price of flats also fell – down 0.9% on the month, and 1.5% annually to an average of £82,385.

First-time buyers in South Tyneside spent an average of £123,100 on their property – £2,200 more than a year ago, and £14,200 more than in November 2015.

On average, buyers paid 2.1% less than the average price in the North East – £141,000 - in December for a property in South Tyneside.

Across the North East, property prices remain low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £252,000.

The most expensive properties in the North East were in North Tyneside – £176,000 on average.