House prices increased more than average for the south west in Cornwall in July, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 2.6 per cent annual growth .

The average Cornwall house price in July was £234,320, Land Registry figures show – a 1.4 per cent increase on June.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the south west, where prices increased 1.2% , and Cornwall outperformed the 0.5 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the past year the average sale price of property in Cornwall rose by £5,900 – putting the area 13th among the south west’s 36 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in North Devon, where properties increased on average by 14.8 per cent, to £252,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in West Dorset dropped 2.8 per cent in value, giving an average price of £280,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of flats saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Cornwall in July – they increased 1.7 per cent, to £139,179 on average. Over the past year prices rose by 1.3 per cent

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 1.2 per cent monthly; up 2.5 per cent annually; £338,583 average

Semi-detached: up 1.4 per cent monthly; up three per cent annually; £225,368 average

Terraced: up 1.6 per cent monthly; up 2.8 per cent annually; £186,367 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Cornwall spent an average of £193,300 on their property – £4,800 more than a year ago, and £29,900 more than in Jul 2014.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £263,000 on average in July – 36 per cent more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Cornwall compare?

Buyers paid 9.4 per cent less than the average price in the south west (£259,000) in July for a property in Cornwall. Across the south west, property prices are roughly the same as those across the UK, where the average cost £233,000.

The most expensive properties in the south west were in the Cotswolds – £384,000 on average, and 1.6 times as much as in Cornwall. The Cotswolds properties cost 2.2 times as much as homes in Plymouth (£175,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average July sale price of £1.3million could buy 15 properties in Burnley (average £84,000).

Factfile:

Average property price in July

Cornwall: £234,320

The South West: £258,602

UK: £232,710

Annual growth to July

Cornwall: +2.6 per cent

The South West: +0.7 per cent

UK: +0.7 per cent

Best and worst annual growth in the south west

North Devon: +14.8 per cent

West Dorset: -2.8 per cent