Sandwell house prices increased slightly in November

House prices increased slightly, by 0.6%, in Sandwell in November, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 12% over the last year.

The average Sandwell house price in November was £203,395, Land Registry figures show – a 0.6% increase on October.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across West Midlands, where prices decreased 0.1%, and Sandwell was above the 0.3% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Sandwell rose by £22,000 – putting the area 16th 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 23.9%, to £368,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in East Staffordshire gained 7.2% in value, giving an average price of £228,000.

The average UK house price edged down to £295,000 in November 2022, from the previous month's record high of £296,000.

Property prices increased by 10.3% in the year to November, slowing from 12.4% in October.

Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, which represents estate agents, said: "In November, our agents reported a market that was on the cusp of seeing purchasing power handed back to buyers which was a trend we hadn’t seen in months."

And Roger Evans, director of home finance distribution at Gatehouse Bank, said: “The property market is slowly becoming more favourable for buyers in some areas as rates stabilise a little following the turbulence of 2022.”

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Sandwell spent an average of £186,000 on their property – £20,000 more than a year ago, and £56,000 more than in November 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £224,000 on average in November – 20.6% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Sandwell in November – they increased 0.7%, to £218,443 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 12.8%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 0.6% monthly; up 10.8% annually; £333,763 averageTerraced: up 0.5% monthly; up 12.7% annually; £183,477 averageFlats: up 0.4% monthly; up 7.9% annually; £110,023 average

How do property prices in Sandwell compare?

Buyers paid 20.8% less than the average price in West Midlands (£257,000) in November for a property in Sandwell. Across West Midlands, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £295,000.

The most expensive properties in West Midlands were in Stratford-on-Avon – £402,000 on average, and twice as much as more than in Sandwell. Stratford-on-Avon properties cost 2.8 times as much as homes in Stoke (£146,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea.

Factfile

Average property price in November

Sandwell: £203,395West Midlands:£256,937UK: £294,910

Annual growth to November

Sandwell: +12%West Midlands: +12.3%UK: +10.3%

Highest and lowest annual growth in West Midlands

Malvern Hills: +23.9%East Staffordshire: +7.2%