Shropshire house price growth grinds to a halt

The average price of a property sold in Shropshire Council's area between April and May was £202,588 – a fall of 0.48 per cent on the previous month.

It reversed the 0.18 per cent rise seen in the month before, and means that compared to a year ago homes are now worth 4.47 per cent more.

Telford & Wrekin's selling prices returned to slight growth after a narrow fall between March and April, rising by 0.07 per cent to £156,476 – which is 4.78 per cent more than a year ago.

The figures from the Land Registry and the Office for National Statistics do not appear to point to a long-term slide in the county's housing market though.

The annual change in prices is broadly similar to the same point last year, suggesting that over the course of the 12 month period Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin are both seeing steady if modest growth.

The figures are also fairly comparable to those across England, where an annual price increase of five per cent which takes the average property value to £237,662. On a month-by-month basis house prices rose by 0.5 per cent between April and May.

In Wales, an annual price increase of 3.8 per cent took the average property value to £149,817. Powys' prices – which are often unpredictable because of the size and type of the housing market – rose by 0.99 per cent on the month to £172,393.

The official release came as property website Zoopla put out its own data showing the average home across Britain has added just over £3,000 to its value since the start of the year.

Zoopla found the typical home was valued at £304,469 in July – an increase of £3,039 since the start of 2017.

Lawrence Hall, spokesman for Zoopla, said: "Whilst the rate of growth has slowed to a more modest rate, we're not seeing the stark downturn in values that has been predicted.

"Whilst this slowdown might not be what home owners want to hear, a slowdown does present a possible opportunity for those looking to get on the ladder by the end of the year."

West Midlands a housing hot spot

While house prices in Shropshire are sluggish, the wider West Midlands is set to be one of the UK’s house price hot spots, according to a new report.

It is projected to be one of the top regions in the country for fast growing property prices, according to research from leading accountancy PwC.

But the new report also predicts the West Midlands will lag behind other regions when it comes to economic growth in 2017.

And PwC expects growth to slow in most areas next year as the UK continues to feel the effects of uncertainty due to Brexit.

PwC’s latest UK Economic Outlook says the West Midlands is projected to see house price growth of 4.5 per cent in 2017, above the UK average of 3.7 per cent. Out of the UK’s 12 regions, the West Midlands will only be behind the East of England, East Midlands and the South West.

It means the average home in the West Midlands could be worth around £183,000 this year, £8,000 higher than in 2016, and could rise to over £208,000 by 2025.

Matthew Hammond, Midlands regional chairman for PwC, said: “The housing market in the Midlands reflects the strength of the West Midlands economy as a key region in the UK.

“This latest outlook supports the findings of our Good Growth for Cities Index IN 2015 & 16 which show that key cities in the region, including Birmingham, Coventry, Stoke-on-Trent and Wolverhampton, are performing well in terms of jobs, health, the number of business start-ups and transport and environment.

“The West Midlands is becoming the destination of choice for businesses looking to operate outside of London. The region has the necessary ingredients for a strong economy and it’s essential that public, civic, business and education leaders continue working together to further improve the economic, employment and skills prospects in the West Midlands.”

The report also forecasts that the West Midlands economy will grow by around 1.2 per cent this year, slowing to 1.1 per cent in 2018. But this is still an improvement on PwC’s forecast in November of just one per cent growth this year.

It will still lag behind the UK as a whole, which is predicted to slow from 1.8 per cent growth in 2016 to around 1.5 per cent this year and 1.4 per cent next year.