House prices increased by 2.9 per cent in Shropshire in May, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 16.7 per cent annual growth – the highest in the West Midlands.

Meanwhile properties in Whitchurch had an overall average price of £216,550 over the last year.

The majority of sales in Whitchurch during the last year were detached properties, selling for an average price of £302,190.

Terraced properties sold for an average of £147,960, with semi-detached properties fetching £170,880.

Overall, sold prices in Whitchurch over the last year were nine per cent up on the previous year and four per cent down on the 2018 peak of £225,762.

The average Shropshire house price in May was £247,087, Land Registry figures show – a 2.9 per cent increase on April.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across the West Midlands, where prices increased 0.8 per cent, and Shropshire outperformed the 0.9 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Shropshire rose by £35,000 – putting the area top among the West Midlands's 34 local authorities for annual growth.

At the other end of the scale, properties in Tamworth gained 2.5 per cent in value, giving an average price of £198,000.

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Shropshire in May – they increased 3.1 per cent, to £184,056 on average.

Over the last year, prices rose by 17 per cent.

Buyers paid 12.4 per cent more than the average price in the West Midlands (£220,000) in May for a property in Shropshire. Across the West Midlands, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £255,000.

The most expensive properties in the West Midlands were in Stratford-on-Avon – £344,000 on average, and 1.4 times as much as in Shropshire.

Stratford-on-Avon properties cost 2.7 times as much as homes in Stoke (£127,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average May sale price of £1.2 million could buy 12 properties in Burnley (average £100,000).