HOUSE prices increased slightly in Torfaen in December, new figures show.

​The ​boost ​contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 4.7 per cent.

The average Torfaen house price in December was £151,436, Land Registry figures show​ – a 0.9 per cent increase on November.

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Over the month, the picture was ​better than that across Wales, where prices ​decreased 2.0 per cent​, and Torfaen outperformed the 0.3 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Torfaen ​​rose by £6,900 – putting the ​area ninth among Wales’s 22 local authorities for annual growth.

​The best annual growth in the region was in Blaenau Gwent, where properties increased on average by 14.2 per cent, to £102,000. ​At the other end of the scale, properties in Ceredigion dropped 2.1 per cent in value, giving an average price of £184,000.

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Torfaen in December – they increased 1.1 per cent, to £259,650 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 5.6 per cent.

Among other types of property:

  • Semi-detached: up one per cent monthly; up 5.1 per cent annually; £153,416 average
  • Terraced: up 0.7 per cent monthly; up 4.2 per cent annually; £120,967 average
  • Flats: up 0.3 per cent monthly; up 2.1 per cent annually; £79,680 average

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First-time buyers in Torfaen spent an average of £​129,500 on their property – ​£5,600 more than a year ago, ​and ​£28,400 more than in December 2014.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £​175,300 on average in December​ – 35.3 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Buyers paid 8.6 per cent less than the average price in Wales (£166,000) in December for a property in Torfaen. Across Wales, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £235,000.

The most expensive properties in Wales were in Monmouthshire – £280,000 on average, and 1.8 times as much as in Torfaen. Monmouthshire properties cost 2.8 times as much as homes in Blaenau Gwent (£102,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average December sale price of £1.3 million could buy 14 properties in Burnley (average £92,000).

Average property price in December

  • Torfaen: £151,436
  • Wales: £165,735
  • UK: £234,742

Annual growth to December

  • Torfaen: +4.7 per cent
  • Wales: +2.2 per cent
  • UK: +2.2 per cent

Best and worst annual growth in Wales

  • Blaenau Gwent: +14.2 per cent
  • Ceredigion: -2.1 per cent