House prices increased by 2.2 per cent – more than the average for Wales – in Denbighshire in April, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 12.7 per cent annual growth.

The average Denbighshire house price in April was £182,483, Land Registry figures show – a 2.2 per cent increase on March.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across Wales, where prices increased 0.6 per cent, and Denbighshire outperformed the 1.9 per cent drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Denbighshire rose by £21,000 – putting the area eighth among Wales’s 22 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Ceredigion, where property prices increased on average by 26.7 per cent, to £237,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Merthyr Tydfil gained 2.9 per cent in value, giving an average price of £112,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Denbighshire in April – they increased 2.3 per cent, to £163,275 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 12.7per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 2.2 per cent monthly; up 13.2 per cent annually; £230,948 average

Terraced: up 2.2 per cent monthly; up 12.4 per cent annually; £129,599 average

Flats: up 2.1 per cent monthly; up 9.1 per cent annually; £92,488 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Denbighshire spent an average of £163,000 on their property – £18,000 more than a year ago, and £38,000 more than in April 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £202,000 on average in April – 24.1 per cent more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Denbighshire compare?

Buyers paid 1.4 per cent less than the average price in Wales (£185,000) in April for a property in Denbighshire. Across Wales, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £251,000.

The most expensive properties in Wales were in Monmouthshire – £294,000 on average, and 1.6 times as much as in Denbighshire. Monmouthshire properties cost 2.7 times as much as homes in Blaenau Gwent (£109,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average April sale price of £1.1 million could buy 11 properties in East Ayrshire (average £105,000).

Factfile

Average property price in April:

Denbighshire: £182,483

Wales: £185,041

UK: £250,772

Annual growth to April:

Denbighshire: +12.7 per cent

Wales: +15.6 per cent

UK: +8.9 per cent

Best and worst annual growth in Wales

Ceredigion: +26.7 per cent

Merthyr Tydfil: +2.9 per cent