Birmingham house prices rise above West Midlands average - by this amount

House prices in Birmingham increased by 1.6% more than the average for the West Midlands latest figures show.

But the rise does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 2.3% annual decline.

The average Birmingham house price in January was £231,884, Land Registry figures show – a 1.6% increase on December.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across West Midlands, where prices increased 0.6%, and Birmingham was above the 0.5% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Birmingham fell by £5,500 – putting the area 23rd among West Midlands’s 30 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Malvern Hills, where property prices increased on average by 5.7%, to £353,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Wolverhampton lost 4.4% of their value, giving an average price of £198,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Birmingham spent an average of £203,900 on their property – £4,900 less than a year ago, but £37,900 more than in January 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £265,900 on average in January – 30.4% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of flats saw the biggest rise in property prices in Birmingham in January – they increased 2.1%, to £158,644 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 0.5%.

Among other types of property:

• Detached: up 1.7% monthly; down 2.4% annually; £440,167 average

• Semi-detached: up 1.5% monthly; down 2.1% annually; £266,228 average

• Terraced: up 1.4% monthly; down 3.4% annually; £210,893 average

How do property prices in Birmingham compare?

Buyers paid 6.8% less than the average price in West Midlands (£249,000) in January for a property in Birmingham. Across West Midlands, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost is £282,000.

The most expensive properties in West Midlands were in Stratford-on-Avon – £361,000 on average, and 1.6 times the price as in Birmingham. Stratford-on-Avon properties cost 2.7 times the price as homes in Stoke (£135,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, at £1.2 million.

Factfile

Average property price in January

• Birmingham: £231,884

• West Midlands: £248,758

• UK: £281,913

Annual change to January

• Birmingham: -2.3%

• West Midlands: +0.6%

• UK: -0.6%

Highest and lowest annual growth in West Midlands

• Malvern Hills: +5.7%

• Wolverhampton: -4.4%