HOUSE prices dropped by 1.3 per cent in Dudley in March, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 1.1 per cent over the last year.

The average Dudley house price in March was £232,603. Land Registry figures show a 1.3 per cent decrease on February.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across West Midlands, where prices increased 1.4 per cent, and Dudley was lower than the 0.7 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Dudley rose by £2,600 – 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 Rugby, where property prices increased on average by 7.6 per cent, to £310,000.

At the other end of the scale, properties in Tamworth lost 5.9 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £217,000.

First-time buyers in Dudley spent an average of £204,400 on their property – £2,200 more than a year ago, and £50,800 more than in March 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £257,100 on average in March – 25.8 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in Dudley in March – they dropped 1.4 per cent in price, to £192,783 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 1.1 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 1.3 per cent monthly; up 1.1 per cent annually; £351,854 average

Semi-detached: down 1.3 per cent monthly; up 1.6 per cent annually; £231,340 average

Flats: down 1.3 per cent monthly; down 1 per cent annually; £126,347 average

How do property prices in Dudley compare?

Buyers paid 5.6 per cent less than the average price in West Midlands (£246,000) in March for a property in Dudley.

Across West Midlands, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost is £283,000.

The most expensive properties in West Midlands were in Stratford-on-Avon – £374,000 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 (£145,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

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