AVERAGE house prices in Ceredigion have again reached a new record of almost £275,000 after the county experienced a 12.3 per cent annual increase, latest figures show.

The figures have been released in Principality Building Society’s Wales House Price Index for Q2 2022, which demonstrates the change in prices in each of the 22 local authorities.

Ceredigion experienced a new peak price in Q2 of £274,967 reflected in a 12.3 per cent annual increase and 4.4 per cent quarterly rise. - with the county now being home to the fourth highest average house price in Wales.

House prices in Carmarthenshire have risen the second fastest in Wales - by 17.5 per cent annually in the second quarter of 2022 to reach a new peak price of £228,609.

In Powys, average prices rose by 14.5 per cent compared to last year at £269,904, representing a quarterly rise of 7.2 per cent.

In Gwynedd, prices rose by an annual 6.9 per cent to £238,272, but saw a 0.6 per cent quarterly drop.

Shaun Middleton, Head of Distribution at Principality Building Society, said: “Against the backdrop of significant cost of living pressures, with food, fuel and energy prices continuing to spiral, higher interest rates anticipated from the Bank of England, and the collapse in confidence levels across companies and households, there is a growing expectation that the wider economy will enter recession over the coming quarters.

“Across the UK, these cost-of living pressures have begun feeding through into lenders’ affordability calculations, whilst higher mortgage rates might affect the ability and willingness of households to borrow.

“Such changes appear modest for now, but they are cumulative in nature, and their eventual impact will be influenced by the ultimate extent of rate increases, the resilience of the jobs market and the ability of households to increase income.

“The housing market in Wales starts from a strong position, as prices have been steadily rising post-Covid restrictions but is not immune to these macro-economic challenges, and the likelihood is that housing demand and property price inflation will ease over the coming quarters.”

Wales continues to experience some of the strongest property price increases across the UK as the average price of a property rose to more than £240,000 for the first time.

The new peak average price of £240,635 in Wales reflects an 11.5 per cent annual increase and a 3.1 per cent quarterly increase.