House prices increased slightly by 0.7 per cent in Bolton in April, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 2.8 per cent over the last year.

The average Bolton house price in April was £190,276. Land Registry figures show a 0.7 per cent increase on March.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the North West, where prices increased 0.7 per cent, and Bolton was above the 0.3 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Bolton rose by £5,200 – putting the area 15th among the North West’s 35 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

First-time buyers in Bolton spent an average of £159,400 on their property – £4,500 more than a year ago, and £47,300 more than in April 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £210,500 on average in April – 32.1 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Owners of flats saw the biggest rise in property prices in Bolton in April – they increased one per cent, to £117,868 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 1.5 per cent.

Buyers paid 12.2 per cent less than the average price in the North West (£217,000) in April for a property in Bolton.

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Andrew Cardwell, managing director at Cardwells Estate Agents said: “These figures show that the prices of property are increasing steadily given the average rise of 0.7 per cent in April and the same rate in March 2024. 

“Importantly once again the Bolton property market is performing better than lots of our local North West neighbours and in fact well ahead of the figure of 0.3 per cent for the UK.

“On the whole there is a great deal of confidence in the Bolton property market from active buyers, and there are excellent supply levels which are helping to meet the consistent demand levels. 

“I suspect that if the interests were lower, the price growth figures would be greater.  With the recent news that inflation has reached the two per cent target, it is widely thought that interest rates will come done as we progress through 2024, the soonest date available that the Bank of England will meet to discuss this is in August 2024.

“Any interest rate cuts will likely buy the property market further. A recent study by On The Market, showed that 85 per cent of active buyers in the UK were confident they would purchase a property within the next 3 months, and this is despite there being a general election on the horizon and the high interest rates.

“Of course, in comparison to many parts of the UK, the Bolton (and Bury) housing stock is less expensive, and it is no wonder that people believe that buying residential property in Bolton offers great value for money.

“The Bolton property market is a strongly placed now, and performing well given the economic conditions, but it will likely kick on further in the autumn and winter 2024, so if you are thinking of buying a property in 2024 this may be a good time consider what is available.”

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