HOUSE prices crashed by 6 per cent in the Malvern Hills in September, new figures show.

But the large drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 10.8 per cent annual growth.

The average Malvern Hills house price in September was £296,462, Land Registry figures show – a 6 per cent decrease on August.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the West Midlands, where prices increased 3.1 per cent, and Malvern Hills underperformed compared to the 2.5 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Malvern Hills rose by £29,000 – putting the area 14th among the West Midlands’s 34 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Wychavon, where property prices increased on average by 22.2 per cent, to £340,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Solihull gained 2.1 per cent in value, giving an average price of £295,000.

Owners of terraced houses fared worst in Malvern Hills in September – they dropped 6.4 per cent in price, to £219,318 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 9.8 per cent.

Among other types of property:

• Detached: down 5.9 per cent monthly; up 11.3 per cent annually; £415,953 average

• Semi-detached: down 6.1 per cent monthly; up 11.2 per cent annually; £275,297 average

• Flats: down 6 per cent monthly; up 9.2 per cent annually; £165,376 average

First-time buyers in Malvern Hills spent an average of £241,000 on their property – £23,000 more than a year ago, and £43,000 more than in September 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £330,000 on average in September – 36.7 per cent more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Malvern Hills compare?

Buyers paid 28.1 per cent more than the average price in the West Midlands (£232,000) in September for a property in Malvern Hills.

Across the West Midlands, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £270,000.

The most expensive properties in the West Midlands were in Stratford-on-Avon – £364,000 on average, and 1.2 times as much as in Malvern Hills. Stratford-on-Avon properties cost 2.9 times as much as homes in Stoke (£127,000 average), at the other end of the scale.