House prices dropped by 1.7% in Carlisle in March, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 12.3% annual growth.

The average Carlisle house price in March was £158,036, Land Registry figures show – a 1.7% decrease on February.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the North West, where prices increased 0.4%, and Carlisle underperformed compared to the 0.3% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Carlisle rose by £17,000 – putting the area 13th 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 22.6%, to £129,000.

At the other end of the scale, properties in Barrow gained just 3.4% in value, giving an average price of £138,000.

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Winners and Losers

Owners of flats fared worst in Carlisle in March – they dropped 2.4% in price, to £85,108 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 6.8%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 1.3% monthly; up 16% annually; £273,231 average

Semi-detached: down 1.5% monthly; up 12.6% annually; £161,178 average

Terraced: down 2.2% monthly; up 10.2% annually; £122,162 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Carlisle spent an average of £133,000 on their property – £14,000 more than a year ago, and £20,000 more than in March 2017.

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