House prices increased by 1.5% – more than the average for the South West – in Bath and North East Somerset in August, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 1.4% over the last year.

The average Bath and North East Somerset house price in August was £439,121, Land Registry figures show – a 1.5% increase on July.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the South West, where prices increased 1.2%, and Bath and North East Somerset was above the 0.3% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Bath and North East Somerset rose by £6,200 – putting the area eighth among the South West’s 26 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in South Hams, where property prices increased on average by 4.6%, to £443,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in West Devon lost 4% of their value, giving an average price of £313,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Bath and North East Somerset spent an average of £377,200 on their property – £4,200 more than a year ago, and £82,800 more than in August 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £481,600 on average in August – 27.7% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Bath and North East Somerset in August – they increased 1.8%, to £461,748 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 1.5%.

Among other types of property:

How do property prices in Bath and North East Somerset compare?

Buyers paid 33.7% more than the average price in the South West (£328,000) in August for a property in Bath and North East Somerset. Across the South West, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost is £291,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £492,000 on average, and 1.1 times the price as in Bath and North East Somerset. Cotswold properties cost 2.2 times the price as homes in Plymouth (£222,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea (£1.4 million).

Factfile

Average property price in August

Annual change to August

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South West