House prices: Wales yearly average down in first since 2013

The average house price in Wales has fallen year-on-year for the first time in a decade, the Principality Building Society has said.

The average price has dropped to £239,378, almost £10,000 down from a record peak at the end of 2022.

Denbighshire saw the highest drop of any local authority, down by 15.9% on the year.

High interest rates left many buyers struggling, the building society said.

"Affordability in Wales remains stretched," explained Shaun Middleton, Principality Building Society's head of distribution.

Despite the Bank of England's decision to keep the base rate unchanged at 5.25% in September, he said the "overall benefit for consumer confidence may be limited by a growing awareness that interest rates look set to remain higher for longer".

The Principality Building Society's house price index covers transactions from July to September 2023.

"The picture across Wales shows us that more local authorities have been reporting price decreases rather than increases, translating into year-on-year falling house prices," Mr Middleton said.

"This is a clear indication of the broad-based nature of the market's retreat over recent months."

Wales housing market saw just under 10,000 transactions from July to September, an increase on the previous two quarters of the year, but down 20% on a year ago.

Just two local authorities in Wales saw a rise in average house prices over the last year.

Vale of Glamorgan and Conwy hit new record highs of £344,384 and £243,328 respectively.