Chesterfield is the cheapest area in Derbyshire for first-time buyers

The latest data from the Office of National Statistics shows that first-time buyers in the Chesterfield district paid, on average, £134,995 for their property - a rise £28,000 from five years ago.

At the other end of the scale, first-time buyers in Derbyshire Dales have seen their price tags jump up £41,000 to £222,107.

High Peak is the next most expensive at £161,186 - a rise of £35,000, while in Amber Valley, first-time buy prices have gone up £32,000 to £150,397 and in Erewash, prices are up £35,000 to £147.434.

Overall, house prices in Derbyshire rose 0.2 per cent in December, with the average property in the county selling for £179,270 – significantly lower than the UK average of £230,776.

However, the average homeowner in Derbyshire will have seen their property jump in value by around £39,000 in the last five years.

The figures also show that houses in High Peak increased the most in value in December, rising by 1.4 per cent, while in Erewash, they rose by 0.5 per cent.

By contrast, prices have fallen by 1.2 per cent in Chesterfield, 0.6 per cent in Derbyshire Dales and 0.2 per cent in Amber Valley.

Between November 2017 and October last year, the most recent 12 months for which sales volume data is available, 13,386 homes were sold in Derbyshire - four per cent fewer than in the previous year.

Across the East Midlands, property prices have risen by 4.2 per cent in the last year, to £192,748 on average.

The region outperformed the UK as a whole, which saw the average property value increase by 2.5 per cent.