HOUSE prices dropped slightly, by 0.2 per cent, in Dudley in October, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 1.6 per cent over the last year.

The average Dudley house price in October was £238,335, Land Registry figures show – a 0.2 per cent decrease on September.

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

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Dudley rose by £3,700 – putting the area 13th 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 6.9 per cent, to £421,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Herefordshire lost 4.2 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £297,000.

First-time buyers in Dudley spent an average of £208,800 on their property – £2,800 more than a year ago, and £55,000 more than in October 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £264,600 on average in October – 26.7 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Owners of flats saw the biggest fall in property prices in Dudley in October – they dropped 0.4 per cent in price, to £125,791 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 0 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 0.2 per cent monthly; up 2.5 per cent annually; £366,545 average

Semi-detached: down 0.2 per cent monthly; up two per cent annually; £237,513 average

Terraced: down 0.4 per cent monthly; up 0.8 per cent annually; £196,347 average

Buyers paid 5.8 per cent less than the average price in West Midlands (£253,000) in October 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 – £421,000 on average, and 1.8 times the price as in Dudley. Stratford-on-Avon properties cost 2.9 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, at £1.4 million.