HOUSE prices increased slightly, by 0.2 per cent, in Dudley in August, new figures show.

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

The average Dudley house price in August was £238,138. Land Registry figures show a 0.2 per cent increase on July.

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

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Dudley rose by £4,600 – putting the area 17th 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 per cent, to £234,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Bromsgrove lost 3.3 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £338,000.

First-time buyers in Dudley spent an average of £209,900 on their property – £4,500 more than a year ago, and £49,800 more than in August 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £262,300 on average in August – 25 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Dudley in August – they increased 0.6 per cent, to £199,350 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 2.4 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 0.3 per cent monthly; up 0.8 per cent annually; £353,803 average

Semi-detached: up 0.2 per cent monthly; up 2.5 per cent annually; £236,778 average

Flats: up 0.4 per cent monthly; up 0.8 per cent annually; £130,286 average

Buyers paid 6.6 per cent less than the average price in West Midlands (£255,000) in August for a property in Dudley. 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 Dudley. Stratford-on-Avon properties cost 2.6 times the price as homes in Stoke (£147,000 average), at the other end of the scale.