HOUSE prices dropped by 1.7% in Wyre Forest in August, new figures show.

The drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 2.1% annual decline.

The average Wyre Forest house price in August was £239,253. Land Registry figures show a 1.7% decrease on July.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across West Midlands, where prices increased 1.1%, and Wyre Forest was lower than the 1.5% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Wyre Forest fell by £5,000 – putting the area 29th among West Midlands’s 30 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Staffordshire Moorlands, where property prices increased on average by 8.1%, to £234,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Bromsgrove lost 3.3% of their value, giving an average price of £338,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Wyre Forest spent an average of £203,900 on their property – £3,100 less than a year ago, but £39,400 more than in August 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £268,900 on average in August – 31.9% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Wyre Forest in August – they dropped 2.4% in price, to £366,716 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 3.6%.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: down 1.7% monthly; down 1.1% annually; £233,806 average

Terraced: down 1.2% monthly; down 1.3% annually; £188,626 average

Flats: down 1.3% monthly; down 3% annually; £124,951 average

How do property prices in Wyre Forest compare?

Buyers paid 6.2% less than the average price in West Midlands (£255,000) in August for a property in Wyre Forest. Across West Midlands, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost is £293,000.

The most expensive properties in West Midlands were in Stratford-on-Avon – £382,000 on average, and 1.6 times the price as in Wyre Forest. Stratford-on-Avon properties cost 2.6 times the price as homes in Stoke (£147,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

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

Factfile

Average property price in August

Wyre Forest: £239,253

West Midlands: £255,102

UK: £292,924

Annual change to August

Wyre Forest: -2.1%

West Midlands: +2.6%

UK: +2.8%

Highest and lowest annual growth in West Midlands

Staffordshire Moorlands: +8.1%

Bromsgrove: -3.3%