House prices in Solihull
Last October, Solihull lost its position at the top of the USwitch Quality of Life Index to Edinburgh. Don’t worry though, because the borough still finished second, meaning it officially remained the best place to live in England.
It’s perhaps no surprise then that house prices in Solihull saw significant increases in 2015, with buyers paying a premium for homes in postcodes within the catchment areas of the best schools.
It’s not always easy to understand house prices, with a range of different indexes often showing wildly different figures. So here’s our guide to getting your head around how house prices changed last year.
Overall prices
According to data from Zoopla, property prices in Solihull increased by around £95 per day in 2015, with the average price of a house reaching £314,470.
This research concluded that prices increased so quickly in Solihull that their growth could cover the annual £655 rail fare to Birmingham in just under seven days – the fastest rate of any commuter town in the England.
Figures from Halifax, meanwhile, showed that Solihull had the third biggest price increases outside of London and the South East in 2015, with average prices rising by 14.1% in 2015 to reach £314,804.
Stats released by Right Move break things down even further. This data shows that the most common house sales in Solihull last year were for semi-detached properties, which sold for an average of £239,883. Detached homes, meanwhile, achieved an average price of £432,433, and flats fetched £172,325.
These findings all conclude that Solihull house prices are on the rise, and are significantly above the West Midlands average, which according to the Office for National Statistics increased by 7.1% to £211,000 in 2015.
Price per square metre
These increases correlate with separate research from Halifax last year, which found that Solihull was the second most expensive place to buy a home outside London and the south east in terms of price per square metre. Solihull, with a price of £2,367 per square metre, came second after Altrincham, where prices reached £2,446.
Booming postcodes
If you’re looking for a bargain, Land Registry data from February showed that house sellers in nearby Headley Heath had seen prices jump by more than half in just a year. The B38 0 postcode saw prices increase from £120,000 in 2015 to £187,000 in 2015 – a rise of 56%.
The same data shows that Olton in Solihull was the most expensive postcode in the Birmingham area, with median prices reaching £525,000 in 2015.
Solihull is also home to one of the most expensive properties sold in Birmingham last year, with Brook House on Alderbrook Road selling for £1.75m in November.
What’s going to happen this year?
While last year’s increases are expected to slow down, it’s likely that properties in Solihull will continue to achieve steady growth throughout 2016.
The stability of Solihull’s property market is driven by the need for high quality family homes within the catchment areas of the best schools and easy accessibility to Birmingham.
With supply unlikely to increase significantly this year but demand expected to remain high, it’s likely to be another good year for home owners in the area.
