House prices increased by 2.4% – more than the average for the North West – in Copeland in November, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 10.2% over the last year.

The average Copeland house price in November was £153,900, Land Registry figures show – a 2.4% increase on October.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the North West, where prices increased 0.4%, and Copeland 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 Copeland rose by £14,000 – putting the area 33rd among the North West’s 39 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Allerdale, where property prices increased on average by 15.6%, to £194,000. 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.

READ MORE: Rightmove: Average house prices rise by £3000 in January

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 Copeland spent an average of £132,000 on their property – £12,000 more than a year ago, and £24,000 more than in November 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £177,000 on average in November – 34.4% more than first-time buyers.