House prices dropped by 2.5% in Wyre Forest in May, new figures show.

The drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 0.7% annual decline.

The average Wyre Forest house price in May was £239,555, Land Registry figures show – a 2.5% decrease on April.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across West Midlands, where prices increased 0.5%, and Wyre Forest was lower than the UK as a whole, where prices did not change.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Wyre Forest fell by £1,800 – putting the area 28th among West Midlands’s 30 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Telford and Wrekin, where property prices increased on average by 9.1%, to £227,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in North Warwickshire lost 4.7% of their value, giving an average price of £242,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Wyre Forest spent an average of £201,700 on their property – £2,000 less than a year ago, but £45,500 more than in May 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £272,200 on average in May – 35% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Wyre Forest in May – they dropped 2.7% in price, to £380,976 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 0.4%.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: down 2.6% monthly; down 0.4% annually; £233,030 average

Terraced: down 2.5% monthly; down 1.4% annually; £184,586 average

Flats: down 2.2% monthly; down 1.6% annually; £121,313 average

How do property prices in Wyre Forest compare?

Buyers paid 3.5% less than the average price in West Midlands (£248,000) in May for a property in Wyre Forest. Across West Midlands, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost is £286,000.

The most expensive properties in West Midlands were in Stratford-on-Avon – £383,000 on average, and 1.6 times the price as in Wyre Forest. Stratford-on-Avon properties cost 2.7 times the price as homes in Stoke (£144,000 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 May

Wyre Forest: £239,555

West Midlands: £248,166

UK: £285,861

Annual change to May

Wyre Forest: -0.7%

West Midlands: +2.2%

UK: +1.9%

Highest and lowest annual growth in West Midlands

Telford and Wrekin: +9.1%

North Warwickshire: -4.7%