Shropshire Star

Shropshire house prices rise at fastest rate in five years

House prices in Shropshire grew at their fastest monthly rate for almost five years in December, official figures have revealed.

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Land Registry statistics reveal that house prices in Shropshire hit another record high of £204,818 at the end of the year.

That came after a 2.02 per cent increase on November – the fastest month-on-month rise since July 2012.

Telford & Wrekin also experienced a spike – albeit one that was less pronounced than its neighbouring authority.

The average property in the borough now costs £155,402, having increased by 1.77 per cent in the final month of the year.

It means that on an annual basis, properties in Shropshire are now selling for an average of 6.39 per cent more than a year ago, and those in Telford are fetching 5.61 per cent more.

Powys bucked the trend for rising prices at the end of the year, with a 2.47 per cent monthly fall to £168,006 in December.

That meant the Mid Wales county ended the year with average property prices 3.26 per cent ahead of where it started.

Nationally, house prices ended last year around £15,000 higher on average than when the year started.

Richard Snook, a senior economist at PwC, said the £15,000 average increase in house prices seen over 2016 compares with an average UK salary of £28,000.

He said: "The good news for prospective future buyers is that we do expect a gradual slowdown in house price inflation in 2017 with our scenarios ranging from between two per cent and six per cent growth.

"There are several headwinds affecting the housing market over the next couple of years: uncertainty related to Brexit, rising consumer price inflation with consequent downward pressure on real earnings growth and, in the longer run, the potential for a supply increase due to initiatives in last week's (housing) white paper."

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