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But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 13.7% annual growth.

The average Blackpool house price in December was £130,372, Land Registry figures show – a 0.3% decrease on November.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the North West, where prices increased 0.6%, and Blackpool underperformed compared to the 0.8% rise for the UK as a whole.

House prices fell slightly in Blackpool at the end of last year

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Blackpool rose by £16,000 – putting the area 11th among the North West’s 39 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Knowsley, where property prices increased on average by 17.1%, to £166,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Allerdale lost 2.1% of their value, giving an average price of £162,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of flats fared worst in Blackpool in December – they dropped 1.2% in price, to £78,794 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 9.7%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 0.8% monthly; up 19.1% annually; £226,090 average

Semi-detached: down 0.3% monthly; up 13.6% annually; £148,440 average

Terraced: down 0.3% monthly; up 13.1% annually; £110,084 average

First-time buyers in Blackpool spent an average of £115,000 on their property – £13,000 more than a year ago, and £23,000 more than in December 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £141,000 on average in December – 22.4% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Blackpool compare?

Buyers paid 34.9% less than the average price in the North West (£200,000) in December for a property in Blackpool. Across the North West, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £275,000.

The most expensive properties in the North West were in Trafford – £342,000 on average, and 2.6 times as much as more than in Blackpool. Trafford properties cost 3.1 times as much as homes in Burnley (£111,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea.

First time buyers spend £115,000 on average on their first Blackpool home