House prices increased by 1.7% – more than the average for Wales – in Monmouthshire in March, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 1% over the last year.

The average Monmouthshire house price in March was £340,158. Land Registry figures show a 1.7% increase on February.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across Wales, where prices increased 0.9%, and Monmouthshire was above the 0.7% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Monmouthshire rose by £3,500 – putting the area eighth among Wales’s 22 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Ceredigion, where property prices increased on average by 4%, to £244,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Merthyr Tydfil lost 13.7% of their value, giving an average price of £131,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Monmouthshire spent an average of £264,500 on their property – £3,700 more than a year ago, and £56,200 more than in March 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £394,600 on average in March – 49.2% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Monmouthshire in March – they increased 1.8%, to £488,313 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 0.9%.

Among other types of property:

How do property prices in Monmouthshire compare?

Buyers paid more for properties in Monmouthshire than anywhere else in Wales in March. The average price paid would buy 2.6 homes in Merthyr Tydfil (£131,000), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea.

Across Wales, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £283,000.

Factfile

Average property price in March

Annual growth to March

Highest and lowest annual growth in Wales