House prices dropped slightly, by 0.7%, in Carmarthenshire in September, new figures show.

The drop contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 1.7% annual decline.

The average Carmarthenshire house price in September was £202,427, Land Registry figures show – a 0.7% decrease on August.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across Wales, where prices decreased 0.9%, but Carmarthenshire was lower than the 0.5% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Carmarthenshire fell by £3,600 – putting the area 14th among Wales’s 22 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Monmouthshire, where property prices increased on average by 4.7%, to £368,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Blaenau Gwent lost 11.2% of their value, giving an average price of £118,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Carmarthenshire spent an average of £178,100 on their property – £3,400 less than a year ago, but £49,200 more than in September 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £227,700 on average in September – 27.9% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of flats saw the biggest fall in property prices in Carmarthenshire in September – they dropped 1.3% in price, to £113,528 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 2.5%.

Among other types of property:

  • Detached: down 0.7% monthly; down 1.4% annually; £276,057 average
  • Semi-detached: down 0.7% monthly; down 1.7% annually; £178,319 average
  • Terraced: down 0.8% monthly; down 2.4% annually; £144,778 average

How do property prices in Carmarthenshire compare?

Buyers paid 5.8% less than the average price in Wales (£215,000) in September for a property in Carmarthenshire. Across Wales, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £291,000.

The most expensive properties in Wales were in Monmouthshire – £368,000 on average, and 1.8 times the price as in Carmarthenshire. Monmouthshire properties cost 3.1 times the price as homes in Blaenau Gwent (£118,000 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 September

  • Carmarthenshire: £202,427
  • Wales: £214,912
  • UK: £291,385

Annual change to September

  • Carmarthenshire: -1.7%
  • Wales: -2.7%
  • UK: -0.1%

Highest and lowest annual growth in Wales

  • Monmouthshire: +4.7%
  • Blaenau Gwent: -11.2%