Good news for home owners as house prices in Burnley rise

The latest data from the Office of National Statistics shows that the average property in the area sold for £81,352 - significantly lower than the UK average of £228,384.

Across the North West, property prices have risen by 3.1% in the last year, to £159,801. The region outperformed the UK as whole, which saw the average property value increase by 3.0%.

The data comes from the House Price Index, which the ONS compiles using house sale information from the Land Registry, and the equivalent bodies in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Burnley is the cheapest local authority in the UK in which to buy a home, and the average homeowner will have seen their property jump in value by around £14,000 in the last five years.

The figures also showed that buyers who made their first step onto the property ladder in Burnley in June spent an average of £73,690 - around £12,000 more than it would have cost them five years ago.

Lawrence Bowles, the associate director of the research team at the estate agents Savills, said the national figures were a "mixed picture" for homeowners.