House prices increased by 2.1% – more than the average for Wales – in Carmarthenshire in March, new figures show.

But the rise does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 2.2% annual decline.

The average Carmarthenshire house price in March was £200,939. Land Registry figures show a 2.1% increase on February.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across Wales, where prices increased 0.9%, and Carmarthenshire was above the 0.7% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Carmarthenshire fell by £4,500 – putting the area 15th 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 4%, to £244,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Merthyr Tydfil lost 13.7% of their value, giving an average price of £131,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Carmarthenshire spent an average of £177,400 on their property – £3,600 less than a year ago, but £50,100 more than in March 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £225,100 on average in March – 26.9% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Carmarthenshire in March – they increased 2.4%, to £270,731 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 2.6%.

Among other types of property:

How do property prices in Carmarthenshire compare?

Buyers paid 6% less than the average price in Wales (£214,000) in March for a property in Carmarthenshire. Across Wales, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £283,000.

The most expensive properties in Wales were in Monmouthshire – £340,000 on average, and 1.7 times the price as in Carmarthenshire. Monmouthshire properties cost 2.6 times the price as homes in Merthyr Tydfil (£131,000 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 March

Annual change to March

Highest and lowest annual growth in Wales