House prices dropped slightly, by 0.1%, in Carmarthenshire in July, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 12.1% annual growth.

The average Carmarthenshire house price in July was £201,526, Land Registry figures show –a 0.1% decrease on June.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across Wales, where prices increased 2.8%, and Carmarthenshire underperformed compared to the 2% rise for the UK as a whole.

Across the UK, the the average UK house price leapt by 15.5% in the year to July, marking the biggest increase in 19 years.

But the increase in annual inflation was mainly because of “a base effect” from the falls in prices seen this time last year, as a result of changes in the stamp duty holiday, the ONS said.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Carmarthenshire rose by £22,000 – putting the area 18th among Wales’s 22 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Blaenau Gwent, where property prices increased on average by 20%, to £132,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Cardiff gained just 8.3% in value, giving an average price of £256,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of flats fared worst in Carmarthenshire in July – they dropped 0.2% in price, to £113,984 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 6.1%.

Among other types of property:

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Carmarthenshire spent an average of £178,000 on their property – £19,000 more than a year ago, and £60,000 more than in July 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £226,000 on average in July – 27.1% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Carmarthenshire compare?

Buyers paid 8.4% less than the average price in Wales (£220,000) in July for a property in Carmarthenshire. Across Wales, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £292,000.

The most expensive properties in Wales were in Monmouthshire – £351,000 on average, and 1.7 times as much as more than in Carmarthenshire. Monmouthshire properties cost 2.7 times as much as homes in Blaenau Gwent (£132,000 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 July

Annual growth to July

Best and worst annual growth in Wales