Bolton: the market in figures
Bolton has outpaced the North West over the past year, with a rise of 4.8% against 2.2% for the region. The average now stands at £203,951, 7.5% short of the regional £220,393 and 25.3% short of the UK £273,037. The area comes 103rd of 135, and 13th of 22 within the North West. The line since 2016 is one of the steepest in this batch. From £117,904 the price has risen 73%, which is £86,047, and it has never fallen from one year to the next. Early annual gains were modest, between 2.1% and 5.8%. Then 2021 brought 16.9% and 2022 brought 11.6%. The gains afterward are 1%, 5%, 2% and 4.8%, and the latest value is the highest on record. Within the full ranking, Kensington and Chelsea is at the top and City of Aberdeen at the bottom, leaving Bolton in the lower part of the table, well below the UK level.
A detached house averages £376,034, a semi-detached £223,966, a terraced house £168,153 and a flat £117,128. Moving from a flat to a detached house adds £258,906, a jump of 221%. First-time buyers pay £180,018 on average, 11.7% below the all-buyer average.
Stamp Duty is £1,579 on a purchase by someone moving home (0.8% of the price), £0 on a first home and £11,777 on an additional property. HM Land Registry charges £150. The sales count stands at 3,275, covering June 2025 to May 2026.
Bolton's neighbours cluster around its price, with one outlier. Rossendale is 1.2% lower at £201,483 and Wigan 4.7% lower at £194,393. Salford is 9.5% higher at £223,323, though it fell 1.7%, and Bury is 19.2% higher at £243,107. Hyndburn sits 29.9% lower at £142,964, and its rise of 7.6% is the strongest among the neighbours. Their centres are within 20 km, the closest at 10 km.
Payotte, from the UK HPI and the calculator.
Property professionals in Bolton
One firm per trade, selected by Payotte on public data (4 of 5 trades filled in Bolton). Companies, never individuals, with a regulator or register you can check with the official body.
| Trade | Firm | Google rating | Reviews | Score /100 | Status | Listing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estate agent | Vacant | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mortgage adviser | Winstanley Mortgage Services Ltd | 4.9 | 62 | 76 | Selected | View |
| Conveyancer | Swift Lawyers | 3.8 | 420 | 74 | Selected | View |
| Surveyor | Aspire Chartered Surveyors | 5 | 7 | 63 | Partial | View |
| Valuer | Aspire Chartered Surveyors | 5 | 7 | 63 | Partial | View |
One firm per trade and per area, chosen on public data and scored out of 100 points — Google reviews (35), age of the company (30), checkable regulator or register (15), local anchoring (15), bonus (5). The ranking is never paid for. No firm can buy its place or its recommendation. How Payotte ranks firms
Calculate for Bolton
Frequently asked questions
What is the average house price in Bolton?
The average price of a home in Bolton was £203,951 in August 2026, +4.8% over twelve months (UK House Price Index).
Have house prices gone up in Bolton?
The average price in Bolton went from £117,904 in August 2016 to £203,951 in August 2026, a change of +73%; +4.8% over the last twelve months (UK House Price Index).
How much Stamp Duty Land Tax on an average-priced home in Bolton?
On £203,951, Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) comes to £1,579 for a home mover, £0 for a first-time buyer and £11,777 for an additional property, at the rates in force in England.
How much tax when you sell a home in Bolton?
None on your main home if it was your only home, lived in for all the time you owned it, not let out and not used exclusively for business (Private Residence Relief). A second home or a buy-to-let pays Capital Gains Tax above the £3,000 allowance (2026 to 2027; rates in the calculator above). Bought at the average price in Bolton in August 2016 (£117,904) and sold at the August 2026 average (£203,951), the gain of £86,047 costs a higher rate taxpayer £19,931, before deducting the costs of buying, selling and improving. The tax is reported and paid within 60 days of completion (HMRC).
Is Bolton expensive?
Bolton ranks 103rd of the 135 areas Payotte covers for the average price in August 2026, from £1,204,072 in Kensington and Chelsea to £133,782 in City of Aberdeen.
Prices by property type, August 2026
| Type | Average price | North West |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £376,034 | £388,124 |
| Semi-detached | £223,966 | £242,592 |
| Terraced | £168,153 | £178,230 |
| Flat or maisonette | £117,128 | £140,000 |
| All types | £203,951 | £220,393 |
| First-time buyers | £180,018 | £191,727 |
The UK HPI is a mix-adjusted average (a hedonic model), not the price of the homes sold in the month. Northern Ireland figures are quarterly.
The trend, August of each year
| Year | Average price | Change on the year before |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | £117,904 | — |
| 2017 | £123,667 | +4.9% |
| 2018 | £130,850 | +5.8% |
| 2019 | £133,614 | +2.1% |
| 2020 | £137,958 | +3.3% |
| 2021 | £161,281 | +16.9% |
| 2022 | £179,953 | +11.6% |
| 2023 | £181,818 | +1% |
| 2024 | £190,855 | +5% |
| 2025 | £194,623 | +2% |
| 2026 | £203,951 | +4.8% |
Sources
- Prices and sales: UK House Price Index, file UK-HPI-full-file-2026-08.csv. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2020. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Purchase tax: rates and sources of the calculator (HMRC).
- Tax when you sell: Capital Gains Tax rates, Tax when you sell your home and Report and pay your Capital Gains Tax (GOV.UK, HMRC).