House prices increased by 2.5% – more than the average for Wales – in Powys in February, new figures show.

But the rise does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 1.7% annual decline.

The average Powys house price in February was £238,023, Land Registry figures show – a 2.5% increase on January.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across Wales, where prices increased 0.4%, and Powys was above the 0.4% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Powys fell by £4,200 – putting the area 12th 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 3.5%, to £248,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Newport lost 7.5% of their value, giving an average price of £220,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Powys spent an average of £209,600 on their property – £3,000 less than a year ago, but £45,200 more than in February 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £264,900 on average in February – 26.4% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Powys in February – they increased 2.8%, to £213,446 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 0.6%.

Among other types of property:

How do property prices in Powys compare?

Buyers paid 13% more than the average price in Wales (£211,000) in February for a property in Powys. Across Wales, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £281,000.

The most expensive properties in Wales were in Monmouthshire – £333,000 on average, and 1.4 times the price as in Powys. Monmouthshire properties cost 2.6 times the price as homes in Blaenau Gwent (£127,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

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

Factfile

Average property price in February

Annual change to February

Highest and lowest annual growth in Wales