Sandwell house prices dropped slightly in December
House prices dropped slightly, by 0.5%, in Sandwell in December, new figures show.
But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 13.3% over the last year.
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Hide AdThe average Sandwell house price in December was £204,464, Land Registry figures show – a 0.5% decrease on November.
Over the month, the picture was similar to that across West Midlands, where prices remained static, and Sandwell was lower than the 0.4% drop for the UK as a whole.
Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Sandwell rose by £24,000 – putting the area 11th among West Midlands’s 30 local authorities with price data for annual growth.
The highest annual growth in the region was in Walsall, where property prices increased on average by 17.6%, to £225,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Wychavon gained 5.3% in value, giving an average price of £340,000.
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Hide AdThe average UK house price was £294,000 in December 2022, which was £26,000 higher than 12 months earlier.
It meant prices increased by 9.8% annually in December, slowing from 10.6% annual growth in November, according to the Office for National Statistics.
First steps on the property ladder
First-time buyers in Sandwell spent an average of £187,000 on their property – £22,000 more than a year ago, and £57,000 more than in December 2017.
By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £225,000 on average in December – 20.6% more than first-time buyers.
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Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest fall in property prices Sandwell in December – they dropped 0.5% in price, to £184,172 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 13.8%.
Among other types of property:
Detached: down 0.3% monthly; up 12.1% annually; £337,285 averageSemi-detached: down 0.5% monthly; up 13.8% annually; £219,275 averageFlats: down 0.1% monthly; up 10.3% annually; £111,228 average
How do property prices in Sandwell compare?
Buyers paid 20.2% less than the average price in West Midlands (£256,000) in December for a property in Sandwell. Across West Midlands, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £294,000.
The most expensive properties in West Midlands were in Stratford-on-Avon – £384,000 on average, and 1.9 times as much as more than in Sandwell. Stratford-on-Avon properties cost 2.6 times as much as homes in Stoke (£147,000 average), at the other end of the scale.
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Factfile
Average property price in December
Sandwell: £204,464West Midlands:£256,206UK: £294,329
Annual growth to December
Sandwell: +13.3%West Midlands: +10.7%UK: +9.8%
Highest and lowest annual growth in West Midlands
Walsall: +17.6%Wychavon: +5.3%