HOUSE prices dropped by 2.3 per cent – more than the average for Wales – in the Vale of Glamorgan in February, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 3 per cent annual growth.

The average Vale of Glamorgan house price in February was £238,745, Land Registry figures show – a 2.3 per cent decrease on January.

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Over the month, the picture was worse than that across Wales, where prices decreased 0.7 per cent, and the Vale of Glamorgan underperformed compared to the UK as a whole, where prices did not change.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in the Vale of Glamorgan rose by £6,900 – putting the area 21st among Wales’s 22 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Blaenau Gwent, where property prices increased on average by 18.4 per cent, to £108,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Flintshire lost 1.1 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £173,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of detached houses fared worst in the Vale of Glamorgan in February – they dropped 2.6 per cent in price, to £391,274 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 3.4 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: down 2.4% per cent monthly; up 3.3 per cent annually; £245,181 average

Terraced: down 2.2 per cent monthly; up 3.4 per cent annually; £188,416 average

Flats: down 1.7 per cent monthly; up 0.3 per cent annually; £146,731 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in the Vale of Glamorgan spent an average of £198,400 on their property – £5,100 more than a year ago, and £35,200 more than in January 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £274,000 on average in February – 38.1 per cent more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in the Vale of Glamorgan compare?

Buyers paid 32.7 per cent more than the average price in Wales (£180,000) in February for a property in the Vale of Glamorgan. Across Wales, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £250,000.

The most expensive properties in Wales were in Monmouthshire – £303,000 on average, and 1.3 times as much as in the Vale of Glamorgan. Monmouthshire properties cost 2.8 times as much as homes in Blaenau Gwent (£108,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average February sale price of £1.2 million could buy 13 properties in Hyndburn (average £92,000).

Factfile

Average property price in February

The Vale of Glamorgan: £238,745

Wales: £179,861

UK: £250,341

Annual growth to February

The Vale of Glamorgan: +3 per cent

Wales: +8.4 per cent

UK: +8.6 per cent

Best and worst annual growth in Wales

Blaenau Gwent: +18.4 per cent

Flintshire: -1.1 per cent