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Wales joins London in bucking house price trend

Wednesday, 22 February 2012 9:06 AM

Wales was the only region of Britain apart from London to see an increase in house prices in 2011, according to the latest index from LSL Property Services (LSL) and Acadametrics.

Prices rose 0.3 per cent in December and by 1.6 per cent over the year to reach an average of £154,409.

Transactions were also up one per cent on December thanks to an increase in the number of first-time buyers with suitable deposits and those looking to buy higher-end properties before the end of the stamp duty holiday in March.

However, the national picture obscured some big differences between regions. Prices showed strong annual improvement in Cardiff and Monmouthshire but strong falls in areas like Neath Port Talbot and Denbighshire.

Nigel Favas, managing director of Reeds Rains estate agents, part of LSL, said wealthy investors and retirees have been the bedrock of the Welsh market over the last year and were likely to continue to have a disproportionately large impact in the year ahead.

He said: "Wales's housing market is almost in a league of its own in Great Britain, bucking the wider trend of gradual house price decline seen in England and Scotland in 2011. In fact, outside of Wales, only London homeowners also saw their houses rise in value last year."

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