DENBIGHSHIRE was the only local authority in North Wales to see house prices rise between April and June, with its average house price rising by 3.4 per cent to £186,105.

The figures have been released from Principality Building Society’s Wales House Price Index, which demonstrates the rise and fall in house prices in each of the 22 local authorities in Wales.

Elsewhere across North Wales, house prices dropped at the highest rate in Flintshire by six per cent to £180,080 and Gwynedd by 5.5 per cent to £170,615.

Wrexham (£176,563), Anglesey (£206,806) and Conwy (£191,008) also experienced a drop in house prices from April to June 2020.

Across Wales, house prices have remained steady in Q2 [April to June] despite the coronavirus pandemic, with the average house price for the country now £191,880.

The new average house price for Wales represents a 2.2 per cent annual rise but a quarterly drop of 0.7 per cent, although the number of purchases is lower than normal due to lockdown measures that were in place.

Transactions were down by 66 per cent in Q2 in which the housing market was temporarily frozen.

Wales began 2020 with a record average house price of £193,299 in January. Although the lockdown started in March, where the average house price had dipped marginally to £193,257, most decisions to purchase properties in that month would have been taken before the extent of the pandemic was known. Prices would therefore have been relatively unaffected by the Covid-19 outbreak until April.

Mike Jones, interim CEO at Principality Building Society, said: “We remain cautious about how we interpret average house price data for Q2 because sales are down by more than 60 per cent compared with the same period in 2019. The temporary increase in the Land Transaction Tax to help first time buyers in particular, is likely to stimulate the market in the short-term, along with increased levels of activity following the easing of lockdown restrictions.

“However, once the UK Government furlough schemes come to an end in October, there may well be a rise in job losses and this, in turn, is likely to have a negative impact on consumer confidence in general. If this happens, then we would expect to see lower levels of activity in the housing market across the UK, and not just Wales.”

Most property observers are anticipating that average prices in Wales will continue to rise in Q3, following the increase in the Land Transaction Tax threshold from £180,000 to £250,000, which took effect from July 27, although the savings do not apply to those buying a second home or buy-to-let property.

As well as Denbighshire, six other local authorities in Wales saw house prices rise during Q2 predominantly in the south of the country, with the Vale of Glamorgan increasing at the highest rate by 14 per cent to an average price of £300,903.