House prices dropped marginally in Bolton in February, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 10.6 per cent annual growth.

The average Bolton house price in February was £187,909, Land Registry figures show – a 0.4 per cent decrease on January.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the North West, where prices decreased 0.6 per cent, and Bolton outperformed the one per cent drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Bolton rose by £18,000 – putting the area ninth among the North West’s 35 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

Owners of terraced houses fared worst in Bolton in February – they dropped 0.6 per cent in price, to £148,652 on average.

But over the last year, prices rose by 10.3 per cent.

Among other types of property detached properties were up 0.1 per cent monthly and up 11.2 per cent annually, semi-detached properties are down 0.4 per cent monthly, up 11 per cent annually and flats were down 0.2 per cent monthly and up 8.2 per cent annually.

Andrew Cardwell, owner of Cardwells Estate Agents, which sells properties in Bolton, said: “The performance of the Bolton property market in direct comparison to the UK as a whole shows the robust levels of demand at play in comparison to other areas, and is testament to the strong foundations that our Bolton property market is built upon.  

“Although there has been the expected small recent price dips according to this data, this must be viewed in the context of the more medium term where prices have risen notably.  

“The cost of living crisis, inflationary pressures and rising interest rates inevitably have played a part in the recent market conditions, though the post Easter market has been very active with viewers, and those thinking about perhaps moving ahead of the September school term.

“Mr Sunak has targeted a significant reduction in the inflation rates for 2023, and should that happen, I would expect the cost of borrowing (interest rates) to fall too. 

“So, as we progress through 2023, we may well see the cost of borrowing reducing. 

“In fact, over the last couple of months, despite the base interest rate increasing, some of the major lenders have actually reduced their lending rates over the last few weeks, so the rates available are more competitive than only a few months ago.  

“I’m confident that the Bolton property market will remain robust as we move through 2023 and as these figures indicate, there is excellent value for money in purchasing Bolton property in comparison to other areas.”

First-time buyers in Bolton spent an average of £157,000 on their property – £15,000 more than a year ago, and £47,000 more than in February 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £209,000 on average in February – 33.3 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Buyers paid 12.3 per cent less than the average price in the North West (£214,000) in February for a property in Bolton.