HOUSE prices in Copeland increased by 1.5 percent in September, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 10 percent annual growth - possibly being driven by people moving back to the area following a growth in remote working.

The average price of a house in Copeland in September was £137,502, Land Registry figures show – a 1.5 percent increase on August.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Copeland rose by £13,000 – putting the area 28th among the North West’s 43 local authorities for annual growth.

The picture is more complex at different price points in the market.

For example, first-time buyers in Copeland spent an average of £118,000 on their property – £11,000 more than a year ago, and £13,000 more than in September 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £158,000 on average in September – 33.6 percent more than first-time buyers.

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Copeland in September – they increased 1.8 percent, to £224,141 on average.

In this category, over the last year, prices rose by 10.8 percent.

Tessa Milner, valuer and branch manager at PFK Carlisle, believes that people's attitudes to their homes and their lifestyle has altered hugely in the wake of the pandemic.

She said: "People have had a lot of reconsiderations of their lifestyles and their work life balance has changed.

"A lot of people have realised they may be hybrid working or working from home.

“There has definitely been people coming back to the area who would maybe move away for work.

“For example, if you finish school and go to university you tend to leave the area because there is maybe not as much employment or the salaries here are lower.

"So people who have got jobs that they can work remotely from are maybe now coming home to their home county.”

There are rises in other categories too. Semi-detached home are up 10.1 percent annually; terraced home are up 9.7 percent annually; and flats are up six percent annually.

Across the North West, the average property price (£204,000) is low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £270,000.

Buyers paid 32.5 percent less than the average price in the North West in September for a property in Copeland.