House prices increased by 1.2% – more than the average for the South West – in North Somerset in February, new figures show.

But the rise does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 0.5% annual decline.

The average North Somerset house price in February was £324,830, Land Registry figures show – a 1.2% increase on January.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South West, where prices increased 0.5%, and North Somerset was above the 0.4% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in North Somerset fell by £1,700 – putting the area 13th among the South West’s 26 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Stroud, where property prices increased on average by 9.8%, to £352,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Torridge lost 8.4% of their value, giving an average price of £288,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in North Somerset spent an average of £264,400 on their property – £2,700 less than a year ago, but £48,300 more than in February 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £368,200 on average in February – 39.3% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in North Somerset in February – they increased 1.5%, to £342,782 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 0.3%.

Among other types of property:

How do property prices in North Somerset compare?

Buyers paid 2.5% more than the average price in the South West (£317,000) in February for a property in North Somerset. Across the South West, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost is £281,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £500,000 on average, and 1.5 times the price as in North Somerset. Cotswold properties cost 2.2 times the price as homes in Plymouth (£223,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea.

Factfile

Average property price in February

Annual change to February

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South West