Cardiff sees house prices surge 5.9% in past year

AVERAGE house prices in Cardiff are nearing the £200,000 mark after a 5.9% surge over the past year, new official figures show.

The city saw some of the fastest rising prices in Wales, with a typical home now costing £198,959.

Across Wales, the cost of a new home rose by 3.6% in the year to June according to figures released jointly by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Land Registry and other bodies.

The average Welsh house now costs £151,672.

The nation’s best performing area for rises was Bridgend, where prices have topped £150,000 for the first time thanks to a 10.9% annual increase.

In June, the average price of a home in Bridgend was £150,903, compared to £136,015 a year earlier.

However, prices fell in Blaenau Gwent (down 1.1%), Neath Port Talbot (down 0.5%), and Torfaen (down 0.1%).

Meanwhile, average house prices in the City of London have plunged by 20.3% over the past year – making it the weakest-performing UK area for annual price growth in June.

The average house price in the City of London in June was £724,000.

The new report said across the UK annual growth rate in house prices has slowed since mid-2016 but has remained broadly around 5% this year so far.

The ONS said the average UK house price was £223,000 in June – around £10,000 higher than in June 2016. Property values increased by 0.8% between May and June.

England continues to be the main driver of house price growth, with prices there increasing by 5.2% over the year to June to reach £240,000 on average.

Estate agent Dan Stark, at Peter Alan in Cardiff, said: “Since they have decided to lower the Severn Bridge price we have been getting people looking over the water from Bristol and that increases demand. There is higher demand in Cardiff for certain areas like Roath, which is near to the city centre.

“They are also building a lot of new accommodation in the city, student accommodation. They have spent a lot of money on that which brings a lot of desirability to the area, so I can understand why prices have gone up.

“I think they will continue to go up. We are busy here and certain areas are doing very well.”

As well as Roath, Penylan and Pontprennau were doing well.

“Pontprennau is on the outskirts but has good access to the motorway and dual carriageway,” Dan added.

Sarah Beeny, owner of estate agent, Tepilo.com, said of the general UK house price increases: “This type of growth is much more sustainable and I expect it to continue throughout the rest of this year and into next.”