Express & Star

Average Black Country house prices vary by £200k

The average price of homes sold in areas of the Black Country and Staffordshire vary by as much as £200,000, new figures show.

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Wednesfield has the lowest prices in the region, with homes in parts of the town being sold for £74,500.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the scale Brewood boasts an average house selling price of £270,000 - a gap of £195,500.

The Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC) unveiled the data, using an interactive map for the whole of England and Wales.

The prices are illustrated in colour-coded blocks on the map, which represent the average house prices in every small area across the country.

The map was created by Oliver O'Brien, researcher at the CDTC and Senior Research Associate at University College London.

Mr O'Brien, who created the map, said prices come from all the houses that were sold in each small area between July 2014 and June 2015.

He said: "I've mapped the median house prices for each small-area, as I think this better provides an indicator of a typical price paid.

"This means that for house price given in every area, half of the houses sold for less than this value, and half more."

The median is the middle number between all the figures of homes sold.

The data itself comes from the Office For National Statistics, the UK's largest independent producer of official statistics.

Councillor Phil Bateman, who represents Wednesfield North, dismissed the low prices of Wednesfield as reflecting anything negative in his constituent.

He said: "The price of £74,500 is extremely good value.

"We have the lowest crime rate within five miles and that includes Staffordshire and outer parts.

"Wednesfield has good schools, good housing, low unemployment and is close to major access points and is not far from the countryside.

"There couldn't be a better place to live."

The average prices of homes across the Black Country and south Staffordshire fall into the £100,000 to £150,000 bracket, which is the second lowest price range on the list.

In total there are nine altogether, ranging from 'under £100,000' at the bottom, to '£450,000 and over' at the top.

Some homes in the Lichfield area, were listed as high as £435,000. Shenstone was one of the most expensive areas to buy a house.

On the west side of the Black Country, where homes sit on the edge of countryside, values go up into the £150,000 to £200,000 price range.

The CDRC is a team that provide a national service to the research community, collecting masses of data on a wide range of topics for people to use.

For more information on the centre's work and to view the map visit cdrc.ac.uk

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