West Midlands property market gathers momentum

The West Midlands is, from my point of view, the beating heart of England. In this industrial centre of the country, the fires of industry burned, creating Birmingham, the Black Country region, Wolverhampton, Coventry, and the surrounding areas.

Boasting a population of about six million people, the West Midlands is a densely populated region. All these people need somewhere to live, leading to competitive market rates and relatively sound infrastructure. As a chartered surveyor, inspecting residential properties is my job. I travel throughout the area, and each day varies from the last. This experience gives me a personal outlook on the market as I learn what trends buyers follow and which common problems affect homes throughout the West Midlands.

How is the West Midlands market performing as a whole?

In general terms, the West Midlands is an extremely popular place to live. With huge city hubs like Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton, there’s somewhere for everyone to work. And yet, outside the commotion and rush, you’ll also find peaceful villages and attractive little towns.

It’s this availability of work that gives the West Midlands its stability and these smaller outlying areas  are, in general, responsible for driving the market growth. People always need somewhere to work, so you can expect things to remain steady for a long time.

The West Midlands is, as always, steady when it comes to property. As an industrial area, it’s seen some recent investment, particularly due to the recent Commonwealth Games. We’ll have to see if that amounts to anything in the future. Like most of the country, we can see a year-on-year house price increase of about 10%. House prices remained approximately the same between February and March, rising a negligible amount of about 0.2%. As in any region, certain areas of the West Midlands outperform others. However, on the whole, you can expect your property to increase in value at a rate similar to the national average.

Which parts of the West Midlands have the highest house prices?

Numerically, the most expensive (and therefore most desirable) places to buy in the West Midlands are Stratford-on-Avon, Warwick, Bromsgrove, Wychavon and the Malvern Hills. Properties sell for averages of £391,000, £378,000, £367,000, £354,000 and £353,000, respectively. Solihull (£337,000), Lichfield (£326,000), Rugby and the county of Herefordshire (each £310,000) cap off the £300,000+ club.

There’s nothing particularly new about these statistics. These areas have historically had above-average house prices, primarily due to their suburb-like setups. Cities are within easy reach when needed (for work and shopping), but it’s possible to live out towards the countryside, away from the busy consumer lifestyle.

Which areas in the West Midlands have seen the highest recent property market growth?

I’ve found recent trends exciting to examine. If you’re looking for an investment, I suggest looking into the Malvern Hills and North Warwickshire regions, along with the town of Warwick itself. These have seen at least 13% growth over the last year, with the Malvern Hills hitting 15.5%. Wychavon (Worcestershire) has also seen a recent spike in interest, with house prices surging 3.6% over just the past month.

I’m also seeing renewed interest to the north and northeast of Birmingham, around Cannock and Wolverhampton. Homes in this general area are worth about 14% more than they were 12 months ago. To my mind, these trends clearly follow the general pattern we’ve seen throughout the UK since the 2020/2021 lockdowns: leaving the city behind to move to the countryside – but not too far. The Malvern Hills, Warwick and Shropshire are the clearest examples. However, other high-performing markets, including Cannock, Wolverhampton, Lichfield, Rugby and Bromsgrove, still represent a certain distance from the main cities.