House prices hit for homeowners after a year-long rise in values
Home owners in Sunderland took a pre-Christmas boost as average house prices in the city decreased in December, new figures show.
Data from the Land Registry show prices in the area decreased by one per cent – but thelonger-termtrendhasseen property values in the area grow by 9.5% over the last year.
The average house price in December in Sunderland was £144,669 – a rise of £12,000 over the year – but the December fall was a little worse than the housing market across the region,wherepricesdecreased by 0.5%.
Prices in the area also under-performed the national market which saw a 0.4% drop in values.
Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Sunderland.
They dropped by 1.2% to an averageof£117,928but,overthe last year, rose by 9.6%.
Detached home values fell by 0.9% monthly – but still up 9.7% annually – to £271,250 on average.
The prices paid for a semidetached were down by one per cent monthly – up 9.6% annually – to an average of £150,297.
Flat values were down 0.5% over the month – but up 7.8% annually – to £87,157 on average.
First-time buyers in Sunderland spent an average of £126,000 on their property – £11,000 more than a year ago, and £26,000 more than in December
2017. Buyers in the area paid 11.6% less than the averagepriceintheNorthEast (£164,000) in December.
Nationally house prices ended last year £26,000 higher than when 2022 started, although the annual pace of growth in property values is slowing.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show values increased by 9.8% in 2022, although the market weaken significantly in November and December.
TheaverageUKhouseprice in December was £294,000 – £26,000higherthan12months earlier.
TheaverageUKhouseprice in December was down from £296,000 in November.
Frances McDonald, research analyst at estate agent Savills, said: "There is an increasing expectation that inflation has peaked but borrowers still face a considerable increase in their mortgage costs which means we likely haven't seen the end of house price falls.
"But we do expect them to continue to be more modest."