The West Midlands and the North West both saw the fastest decline in house prices of all regions in England and Wales between December and January, according to Pinerock Finance.

The credit broker said that both regions saw a house price decrease of over 10%, closely followed by Yorkshire and the Humber (-7.7%) and the East Midlands (-4.6%).

In its analysis of Land Registry data, Pinerock found that only four regions in England and Wales saw house prices increases over the same period – East England (3.7%), the South West (2.6%), North East (1.5%) and Wales (0.4%).

Overall, the average residential house in England and Wales cost £275,275 in January, a 1.7% fall from £280,000 in December.

This figure reflects a staggering decrease of 5.3% in just four months, since the market’s high point of £290,000 in September, according to Land Registry data.

Different property types

Smaller properties are taking the biggest hit, with the price of terraced properties dropping by 8.2% from December to January, and flats declining by 2.2%.

Detached properties increased by 3.4%, while semi-detached homes rose by 0.2%.

David Rocks, founder of Pinerock Finance, said: “The property market seems to be experiencing a trend of falling prices, which may be attributed to factors such as rising interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis.

“These factors are making potential buyers reluctant to enter into property buying negotiations. However, with the belief that interest rates are near the end of their climb, the outlook for the next few months seems to be slightly more optimistic.”