PROPERTY prices in Bolton rocketed by almost 12 per cent last year.

Some detached houses went up by £60,000 - £160 a day.

The average price of a property in the borough now stands at £137,683 - almost double the 2002 figure - according to new Land Registry figures published by website thisishouseprices.co.uk.

The 11.9 per cent increase in Bolton house prices last year, compared to a 6.6 per cent increase across Greater Manchester and an eight per cent rise nationally.

The average price of a terraced house in the town leapt by £16,000 in the nine months to the end of September last year to triple their value of five years ago.

Meanwhile, the popularity of apartment living led to a 20 per cent rise in the price to an average of £135,404 - just £1,200 less than the average semi.

Bolton remains a cheap place to buy property, however as the local average price of £137,683 is still way below the England and Wales figure of £206,414.

Estate agents believe the huge price hikes could be drawing to an end as interest rate rises bite and first-time buyers struggle to get onto the property ladder.

And there are warnings that repossession rates will continue to rise, with homeowners struggling to meet mortgage repayments.

Paul Herod, owner of Aston Estates, said business had been booming since he and his wife bought the business six years ago.

"Year on year there have been huge increases and last year we doubled our business but there has to be a limit somewhere.

"It's still pretty buoyant. We've got a lot of interest in properties."

However, he said a shortage in supply of homes for first-time buyers was forcing them to pay up to £100,000 and slowing the market down.

"People aren't building houses for first-time buyers, they are flooding Bolton with apartments which only suit a certain type of person," he said.

A report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research has predicted prices will rise by 7.6 per cent nationally this year.

But Paul Clarke, a valuer at Farnworth-based Eric Clarke's, said: "As long as it stays this busy, prices will carry on going up. I would have though it would be four or five per cent at best."

Pam Hamer, owner of Carringtons, based in Chorley Old Road, said: "I think prices will go up but certainly not at the rate some people think."

Kieran Maguire, senior lecturer in accounting and finance at Manchester Metropolitan University, said some Bolton homeowners had earned more from their property than from work.

However, he dismissed national reports suggesting inflation would have to rocket to eight per cent to control the boom.

"Most people are taking out fixed rate deals so if interest rates go up it's not going to affect them."

According to BBC figures, property values in Bolton actually fell 4.6 per cent in the final quarter of last year and many estate agents believe this heralds the market reaching a plateau.

Neil Wright, of Horwich-based Crowley Estates, said: "It's been very quiet for four or five months and I think prices have stabilised now."

Mr Wright said the number of sales at his agency was down almost 75 per cent - from 47 to 13 - in the last quarter of 2006 compared to the previous year.

"The third interest rate rise in January took everyone by surprise. It scares the living daylights out of people," he added.

Paul Bullough, residential sales manager and valuer at Miller Metcalfe, said: "Prices have stabilised now and I can't see them increasing any further.

"People read that prices in Bolton increased by 12 per cent last year and think they've automatically made 12 per cent but that's just not true. We are trying to advise people that they have to be realistic."