House prices increased slightly in Cornwall in March, new figures show.
The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 3.5 per cent annual growth.
The average Cornwall house price in March was £238,854, Land Registry figures show – a 0.5 per cent increase on February.
Over the month, the picture was less good than that across the south west, where prices increased two per cent, and Cornwall outperformed the 0.2 per cent drop for the UK as a whole.
Over the past year, the average sale price of property in Cornwall rose by £8,100 – putting the area eighth among the south west’s 36 local authorities for annual growth.
The best annual growth in the region was in Torbay, where properties increased on average by 12.6 per cent, to £214,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in West Devon dropped 6.8 per cent in value, giving an average price of £242,000.
Winners and losers
Owners of detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Cornwall in March – they increased 0.7 per cent, to £346,336 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 3.3 per cent.
Among other types of property:
Terraced: up 0.3 per cent monthly; up 3.9 per cent annually; £189,363 average
Flats: up 0.2 per cent monthly; up 1.6 per cent annually; £140,057 average
First steps on the property ladder
First-time buyers in Cornwall spent an average of £196,800 on their property – £6,600 more than a year ago, and £30,000 more than in March 2015.
By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £268,300 on average in March – 36.3 per cent more than first-time buyers.
How do property prices in Cornwall compare?
Buyers paid 9.3 per cent less than the average price in the south west (£263,000) in March for a property in Cornwall. Across the south west, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £232,000.
The most expensive properties in the south west were in the Cotswolds – £386,000 on average, and 1.6 times as much as in Cornwall. The Cotswolds properties cost 2.2 times as much as homes in Plymouth (£179,000 average), at the other end of the scale.
The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average March sale price of £1.4 million could buy 16 properties in Burnley (average £86,000).
Average property price in March
Cornwall: £238,854
The south west: £263,360
UK: £231,855
Annual growth to March
Cornwall: +3.5 per cent
The South West: +4.1 per cent
UK: +2.1 per cent
Best and worst annual growth in the south west
Torbay: +12.6 per cent
West Devon: -6.8 per cent
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