House prices increased by 0.7% – more than the average for the North West – in Allerdale in November, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 15.6% over the last year – the highest in the North West.

The average Allerdale house price in November was £193,576, Land Registry figures show – a 0.7% increase on October.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the North West, where prices increased 0.4%, and Allerdale was above the 0.3% drop for the UK as a whole.

Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, which represents estate agents, said: "In November, our agents reported a market that was on the cusp of seeing purchasing power handed back to buyers which was a trend we hadn’t seen in months."

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Allerdale rose by £26,000 – putting the area top among the North West’s 39 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

At the other end of the scale, properties in West Lancashire gained 9.1% in value, giving an average price of £225,000.

The average UK house price edged down to £295,000 in November 2022, from the previous month's record high of £296,000.

Property prices increased by 10.3% in the year to November, slowing from 12.4% in October.

And Roger Evans, director of home finance distribution at Gatehouse Bank, said: “The property market is slowly becoming more favourable for buyers in some areas as rates stabilise a little following the turbulence of 2022.”

First-time buyers in Allerdale spent an average of £167,000 on their property – £23,000 more than a year ago, and £39,000 more than in November 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £216,000 on average in November – 29.4% more than first-time buyers.