HOUSE prices dropped slightly, by 0.3 per cent, in Wyre Forest in February, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 14.8 per cent annual growth.

The average Wyre Forest house price in February was £243,056, Land Registry figures show – a 0.3 per cent decrease on January.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across West Midlands, where prices increased 0.3 per cent, and Wyre Forest underperformed compared to the 0.5 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Wyre Forest rose by £31,000 – putting the area fourth among West Midlands’s 30 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

Owners of terraced houses fared worst in Wyre Forest in February – they dropped 0.4 per cent in price, to £187,690 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 13.7 per cent.

First-time buyers in Wyre Forest spent an average of £205,000 on their property – £26,000 more than a year ago, and £60,000 more than in February 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £276,000 on average in February – 34.6 per cent more than first-time buyers.