HOUSE prices in Torfaen have risen by the lowest annual rate in Wales, according to new figures.

Property prices in the area achieved 0.2 per cent annual growth over the past 12 months, revealed Land Registry figures.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Torfaen rose by £360 - putting the area bottom among Wales’ 22 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in Wales was in Conwy, where properties increased on average by 7.9 per cent, to £172,000.
The average house price in Torfaen dropped in September to £148,093 - a 1.6 per cent decrease on the August figure.

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Katie Darlow, residential sales director for Roberts Estate Agents said the fall in house prices may be a result of uncertainty over the Brexit and the early general election.

“When they made the announcement to end the bridge tolls, house prices in Newport went crazy,” she said.

“A lot of local people, especially first-time buyers, and people working in the Bristol area, were then priced out of Newport, and would choose to buy slightly further out, in Cwmbran or elsewhere in Torfaen. 

“In the last month, Torfaen seems to have gone much quieter. 

“You often see a lull approaching Christmas, but added to that there is the uncertainty over Brexit and the general election. 

“We find people are saying they don’t want to do anything before the New Year.”

In September, the picture in Torfaen was better than that across Wales, where prices decreased by 2.8 per cent.

Torfaen buyers paid 9.9 per cent less than the average price in Wales - which now stands at £164,000.

The most expensive properties in Wales were in Monmouthshire, selling for an average of £276,000 - 1.9 times as much as in Torfaen. 

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average September price was £1.2 million - about 8.1 times the average price of a Torfaen home.