HOUSE prices increased by more than 2.7 per cent in Worcester in May, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 13.1 per cent over the last year.

The average Worcester house price in May was £255,190, Land Registry figures show – a 2.7 per cent increase on April.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across West Midlands, where prices increased 2.2 per cent, and Worcester was above the 1.2 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Worcester rose by £30,000 – putting the area 14th among West Midlands’s 30 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

First-time buyers in Worcester spent an average of £217,000 on their property – £25,000 more than a year ago, and £47,000 more than in May 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £296,000 on average in May – 36.3 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Meanwhile, Worcestershire estate agents Nicol and Co, with offices in Worcester, Malvern and Droitwich, have seen house sales drop by more than 18 per cent over the last 12 months.

New data from the company said 3,984 homes were sold in the last 12 months.

Matt Nicol, managing director of Nicol and Co, explained that the housing market in the county was still "red hot", as the decrease reflected “the spike in activity caused by the end of the Stamp Duty holiday”.

Sales in the areas covered by Nicol & Co’s offices for the year ending 31 March 2022 were recorded by the Land Registry as follows:

  • Worcester, 13 per cent down to 1,778
  • Malvern, 19 per cent down to 599, and
  • Droitwich, 35 per cent down to 387.

Mr Nicol said: "Rather than a fall-off in demand, this is a case of the statistics catching up with what was a spike in sales in the previous year caused by the Stamp Duty holiday.

"The reduction in sales recorded in Droitwich is more significant due to a high number of transactions involving new build properties that came on to the market in the previous year.

"What this all means is that the housing market, formerly described as ‘white hot’, is probably now better described as ‘red hot’."