House Price Survey Shows Midlands Lags Behind

Homeowners in the West Midlands might have been pleased with the relative affordability of their home when they bought it, but those keen to increase its value at a time when the property market seems to be weakening may have taken note of just how far behind the region lags for prices.

A new Halifax survey of Britain’s most expensive streets has shown that London dominates the list of the costliest places to reside, where even being a millionaire is nowhere near rich enough. Of the top 20 streets for price, 19 are in the capital and the other in Ascot.

Britain’s most expensive street is Phillimore Gardens in Kensington at £23.8 million, just ahead of the £23.5 million cost of a home at Grosvenor Square in Mayfair.

Of course, most London properties cost far less than these plush pads in the most fashionable parts of the capital, but by comparison the most expensive street in the West Midlands region, Bakers Lane in Solihull, is ten times ‘cheaper’ at £2.3 million.

Most people planning a loft conversion in the West Midlands will not have a home costing even the top Solihull prices, but such a home improvement will at least significantly bolster their property’s value.

According to the latest Land Registry figures, even Solihull prices, now averaging £344,000, are lower than any London borough, the cheapest of which is Barking & Dagenham at £356,000. Elsewhere, the average home costs £234,000 in Birmingham, £226,000 in Telford & Wrekin, and £202,000 in Wolverhampton.

The change in the costliest West Midlands road actually represents a significant drop for the region; last year the Express and Star revealed Carpenter Road in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham had an average price of £3.09 million, with Solihull having to make do with second place as Old Warwick Road came in at £2.1 million.