House prices increased slightly in Cornwall in December, new figures show.

​The ​boost ​contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area ​achieve 4.1 per cent annual growth​.

The average Cornwall house price in December was £241,058, Land Registry figures show​ – a 0.4 per cent increase on November.

Over the month, the picture was ​less good than that across the south west, where prices ​increased 1.3 per cent​, but Cornwall outperformed the 0.3 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the past year, the average sale price of property in Cornwall ​​rose by £9,400 – putting the ​area seventh 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 eight per cent, to £255,000. ​At the other end of the scale, properties in Cheltenham dropped 4.5 per cent in value, giving an average price of £265,000.

Winners and losers

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Cornwall in December – they increased 0.7 per cent, to £350,339 on average. Over the past year prices rose by 4.4 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detached: up 0.6 per cent monthly; up 4.9 per cent annually; £232,931 average

Terraced: up 0.1 per cent monthly; up 3.9 per cent annually; £190,589 average

Flats: remained level over the month; up 1.8 per cent annually; £141,647 average

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First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Cornwall spent an average of £​198,500 on their property – ​£7,300 more than a year ago, ​and ​£31,400 more than in December 2014.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £​271,000 on average in December​ – 36.5 per cent more than first-time buyers.

​How do property prices in Cornwall compare?

​Buyers paid 8.1 per cent less than the average price in the south west (£262,000) in December for a property in Cornwall. Across the south west, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £235,000.

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 2.1 times as much as homes in Plymouth (£181,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average December sale price of £1.3 million could buy 14 properties in Burnley (average £92,000).

Average property price in December

Cornwall: £241,058

The South West: £262,286

UK: £234,742

Annual growth to December

Cornwall: +4.1 per cent

The south west: +2.2 per cent

UK: +2.2 per cent

Best and worst annual growth in the south west

North Devon: +8.0 per cent

Cheltenham: -4.5 per cent