House prices soar in West Bromwich, with the average home now costing £150k

Homes cost almost £150,000 on average – 9.5 per cent higher than a year ago.

The latest analysis of the property market, from Rightmove, sees the town ranked alongside Suffolk and Hampshire in terms of places that have seen the biggest price rises.

Councillor Bawa Dhallu, who represents West Bromwich Central, said he hoped the news would encourage people to move to the town.

He said: “This is very good news and something that I would welcome. In recent years we have had a drive on getting more people to come here and more housing available. Therefore, the property area is something we are looking to work on all the time.

“We want to encourage West Bromwich as being a great place to work, live and invest. With house prices soaring then this obviously helps with the investment of the town too.”

West Bromwich was ranked ninth below leafy market town March, in Cambridgeshire, with an average house price of around £210,000 and a 9.4 per cent price growth.

At the top of the chart was Sudbury, in Suffolk, with a 13.1 per cent growth, alongside Sowerby Bridge, in West Yorkshire, at 12.5 per cent and Kendal, in Cumbria, at 10 per cent. Bristol was the most searched-for place outside London this year for both buyers and renters.

Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, said: “Although prices have grown at a muted rate of 1.2 per cent nationally this year, there are a number of local markets where strong demand and short supply has led to pretty heady price rises, especially in areas where homes are relatively more affordable than some of their nearby cities.”

The West Midlands was projected to be one of the UK’s house price hot spots earlier this year, according to a report by accountancy firm PwC.

It meant the average home was set to be around £183,000, £8,000 higher than in 2016, and could rise to more than £208,000 by 2025.