Average House Prices by
Middle-Layer Super Output Area
2006

Introduction

The house price information in this article is supplied by the Land Registry and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). The figures are available for areas within England and Wales down to middle-layer super output area (MSOA). In total, there are 7,194 MSOAs covering England and Wales. The figures have been downloaded from the Office for National Statistics website (select Neighbourhood Statistics at the top of the page or try this direct link to the data).

The emphasis in this article is on the overall Lancashire results, but the complete data set has figures split by four types of dwellings: detached, semi-detached, terraced, and flat. All the Lancashire figures have been added to our data downloads.

The information covers dwelling transactions, that is, the total number of changes of ownership of dwellings in 2006, with statistics on the prices paid. The data are comprehensive, capturing all changes of ownership for all dwelling types and tenures. This is considered to be a reliable indicator of actual prices paid and a good reflection of market values. In total, the dataset covers 1,281,746 transactions.

Prices at the extremes of the range have been excluded from the calculations because they distort the figures, making them unrepresentative of price levels in the rest of the transactions. The cut-offs at below £1,000 and above £20 million have been set at levels that place these cases outside the normal distribution in all areas.

Comprehensive house price information is also included in the residential property market research monitor that is updated every six months. The figures are more up-to-date but do not include results down to the MSOA level.

The Lancashire Perspective (the Lowest Average House Prices in England and Wales)

Table 1 details average house prices by district in Lancashire and includes figures for the North West, and England and Wales. Ribble Valley was the only Lancashire authority to record an average price in excess of the England and Wales average. In contrast, two East Lancashire authorities (Burnley and Hyndburn) had average prices that were under half of the England and Wales figure. The Burnley result was the lowest average house price figure out of all the 376 authorities in England and Wales. Hyndburn and Pendle recorded the fourth and sixth lowest figures respectively, whilst Blackburn with Darwen was only just ahead with the 12th lowest average.

In the North West, low house prices are not just confined to areas of Lancashire, with the average for the region being 73.5% of the England and Wales figure.

Figure 1 Average House Price by Middle-Layer Super Output Areas, 2006

Source Office for National Statistics

Figure 1 displays average house price figures in the middle-larer super output areas by five broad groupings, whilst Tables 2 and 3 list the MSOAs with the highest and lowest house prices in the county.

The names for the middle-larer super output areas have been derived by the county council and therefore are not officially published by the Office for National Statistics. The names do give readers a better understanding of the location of a particular area.

In broad terms, Figure 1 highlights the concentration of low average prices in a number of East Lancashire MSOAs in the core central urban areas of towns such as Blackburn, Darwen, Accrington, Burnley, Nelson and Colne. Average prices in the cheapest band were also recorded in the west of the county, mainly in central Blackpool, Preston and Skelmersdale.

Figure 1 also reveals a number of relatively rural areas in Lancashire where average prices are in the highest price band. These include parts of West Lancashire, an area to the south and west of Blackburn, much of the Ribble Valley and further up into the Lune Valley. Others area highlighted include rural parts of Fylde district and much of the rural Wyre district.

Table 2 provides details of the ten MSOAs in Lancashire with the lowest average house prices. The average in the Daneshouse Stoneyholme and Burnley Lane South MSOA in Burnley was the second lowest out of all 7,194 MSOAs in England and Wales (lowest was in Redcar and Cleveland). Other MSOAs in Burnley and Pendle districts occupied 5th, 6th, 9th and 14th lowest positions. The high level of cheap terraced property in many urban areas in East Lancashire leads to the very low average figures.

Table 3 details the opposite end of the spectrum to Table 2 and highlights the most expensive areas in Lancashire. The differential between the cheapest and dearest areas in the county is more than a factor of six. Only the MSOA in Ribble Valley 002 covering Slaidburn, Bolton-by-Bowland, Waddington and Hurst Green recorded an average figure of over £300,000.