West Midlands's house prices are on the rise despite fall across UK

The latest house price index from the property website shows the average home in the West Midlands was valued at £239,500 in September, a 1.5 per cent increase on the previous year.

This growth stands in contrast to many parts of southern England, where higher mortgage costs and increased buyer choice are putting downward pressure on prices.

Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said: "The extra cost of mortgages has made home buyers more selective while greater choice of homes for sale has increased the scope to negotiate on price.

"The impact is being felt by sellers in southern England where house price falls are most concentrated as average prices continue to rise across the rest of the country.

"There is still demand to buy homes, and those that are well priced and presented are selling just as quickly as last year.

"Getting the price right from the start is essential."

Nationally, around 35 per cent of homes are now located in areas where property values have declined over the past year, up from 12 per cent a year ago.

These declines are focused in London and the South East, where Zoopla estimates that 85 per cent of homes are in postcode areas experiencing falling prices.

London recorded an average annual price drop of one per cent, while the South East fell by 0.6 per cent, eastern England by 0.5 per cent, and the South West by 0.4 per cent.

In contrast, prices rose by 3.2 per cent in the North West and 2.5 per cent in Scotland.

Despite the regional differences, the average UK house price remains 0.8 per cent higher than a year ago, at £273,100.

Zoopla said that higher mortgage rates have made buyers more selective, while the number of properties available for sale is up seven per cent on last year, giving buyers more negotiating power.

Nathan Emerson, chief executive of property professionals' body Propertymark, said the housing market was becoming "increasingly localised", with buyers becoming more selective and focused on value.

The figures come ahead of Wednesday's Budget.

The Government recently announced its Your First Home scheme, which is expected to allow eligible first-time buyers to purchase selected new-build properties with a deposit of just 2.5 per cent.