House prices in Dudley increased in December, figures show

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 2.2 per cent over the last year.

The average Dudley house price in December was £238,941, Land Registry figures show – a 1.8 per cent increase on November.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across West Midlands, where prices increased 2.6 per cent, but Dudley was above the 0.1 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Dudley rose by £5,200 – putting the area sixth among West Midlands’s 30 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

First-time buyers in Dudley spent an average of £209,400 on their property – £4,100 more than a year ago, and £56,300 more than in December 2018.

Former owner-occupiers paid £265,100 on average in December – 26.6 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Dudley in December – they increased 2.1 per cent, to £238,875 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by three per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 1.7 per cent monthly; up 2.7 per cent annually; £366,378 average

Terraced: up 1.5 per cent monthly; up 1.2 per cent annually; £196,130 average

Flats: up 1.8 per cent monthly; up 0.3 per cent annually; £126,319 average

Buyers paid 5.4 per cent less than the average price in West Midlands (£253,000) in December for a property in Dudley. Across West Midlands, property prices are lower than across the UK, where the average cost is £285,000.

The most expensive properties in West Midlands were in Warwick – £383,000 on average, and 1.6 times the price as in Dudley. Homes in Stoke (£134,000 average) were at the other end of the scale.