HOUSE prices increased by 1.4 per cent – more than the average for West Midlands – in Dudley in June, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 3.1 per cent over the last year.

The average Dudley house price in June was £233,726, Land Registry figures show – a 1.4 per cent increase on May.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across West Midlands, where prices increased 0.7 per cent, and Dudley was above the 0.5 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Dudley rose by £7,000 – 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 Stratford-on-Avon, where property prices increased on average by 11.1 per cent, to £394,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Walsall lost 1.8 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £208,000.

First-time buyers in Dudley spent an average of £205,600 on their property – £6,300 more than a year ago, and £50,100 more than in June 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £258,100 on average in June – 25.5 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Dudley in June – they increased 1.7 per cent, to £194,968 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 3.4 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 1.4 per cent monthly; up 2.4 per cent annually; £350,418 average

Semi-detached: up 1.3 per cent monthly; up 3.8 per cent annually; £232,491 average

Flats: up 0.9 per cent monthly; up 0.3 per cent annually; £127,010 average

Buyers paid 7.7 per cent less than the average price in West Midlands (£253,000) in June for a property in Dudley. Across West Midlands, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost is £288,000.

The most expensive properties in West Midlands were in Stratford-on-Avon – £394,000 on average, and 1.7 times the price as in Dudley. Stratford-on-Avon properties cost 2.8 times the price as homes in Stoke (£140,000 average), at the other end of the scale.