The residential property sector in Wales continues to grow as the average house price has reached a record peak of £191,006, reveal figures from Principality Building Society
The residential property sector in Wales continues to buck the trend seen across England as the average house price has reached a record peak of £191,006 over the last three months, according to the latest figures from Principality Building Society.
The figures demonstrate the variations in house prices across 22 local authorities in Wales.
According to the research, house prices have risen in Wales by just over 2% both quarterly and annually, but the average house price remains approximately 40% lower than in England, where the average price is £305,000.
Bridgend (£175,144), Carmarthenshire (£166,769), Cardiff (£239,788), Newport (£202,947), Pembrokeshire (£207,561) and the Vale of Glamorgan (£277,735) were the six local authorities where house prices reached the peak in the third quarter.
Houses located in coastal areas associated with holiday homes and holiday lets also showed a rise, according to figures from Principality. For example, the annual growth rate in Pembrokeshire is currently 9.6%, while Conwy has a growth rate of 7.1%. In Pembrokeshire, the annual growth rate was the second highest in Wales, while Conwy, which includes coastal property hotspots of Abergele, Llandudno and Colwyn Bay, the annual growth rate was the fourth highest in Wales.
Home sales in Wales increased by 5.6% in the third quarter of 2019 compared to the same period during the previous year. Among various property categories, terraced properties saw the largest increase over the year at 13.5%, followed by semi-detached and detached properties at 8.0% and 0.4% respectively. However, flats showed a downtrend, with sales dropping 15%.
Chief Financial Officer at Principality Building Society, Tom Denman, said that first time buyers, holiday lets and people seemingly not allowing the shadow of Brexit to deter them, means average house prices in Wales continue to buck the trend seen in regions across England. It also seems home movers are continuing to buy higher value properties and overall house sales are up compared to the same quarter in 2018.
Denman said the growth in average house prices is underpinned by historically low interest rates, a shortage of housing supply and relatively high employment. It will be interesting to see if this upward trend continues for the rest of the year as Brexit negotiations reach a critical stage.
