GWENT house prices shot up again in the last three months, according to new figures. The average price rose from £79,642 in the third quarter of 2001 to £89,852 this year. But no area of Gwent is listed as an inflation 'hot spot' in the latest figures from the Halifax.

Its Welsh House Price Index shows that house prices in Cardiff are rising faster than Newport.

In autumn last year, the average Cardiff price was £107,817. In the third quarter this year it was £147,891, a rise of 37%.

The comparative figures for Newport are £74,755 and £86,328, a rise of 15%. The latest index gives no breakdown for Gwent, but a similar report by the Principality last week showed that prices were rising fast in areas like Newport town centre, which the company identified as a Welsh 'hot spot'.

There has been a flurry of Welsh house price reports in the past few months, and the general feeling is that inflation will slow.

But some estate agents identify a ripple effect as buyers are forced out of high-price areas to places close by where the increases are not so dramatic.

This could benefit Newport in attracting people who work in Cardiff but cannot afford the booming capital's prices.

Newport also benefits from the same effect in other directions, towards Monmouthshire and Bristol. Langstone is seeing a huge increase in housebuilding, and the popularity of homes there is attributable to their closeness to the M4 and A449.

Halifax economist Martin Ellis said the annual inflation across Wales continued to grow. "House prices continue to rise at their most rapid pace since the late 1980s, although at less than half the rate of the UK as a whole," he said.

"Despite the acceleration in house prices, there remain few problems associated with housing affordability across Wales."

He said there were pockets, such as Cardiff Bay, where demand was pricing out first-time buyers. This problem is being addressed in Monmouthshire, where the Gwerin Housing Association has introduced a mortgage aid scheme to help rural workers to buy a house.