House prices increased slightly in Conwy in September, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 7.9% annual growth – the highest in Wales.

The average Conwy house price in September was £172,044, Land Registry figures show – a 0.4% increase on August.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across Wales, where prices decreased 2.8% , and Conwy outperformed the 0.2% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Conwy rose by £13,000 – putting the area top among Wales’s 22 local authorities for annual growth.

At the other end of the scale, properties in Torfaen gained 0.2% in value, giving an average price of £148,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Conwy in September – they increased 0.6%, to £133,978 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 7.9%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 0.4% monthly; up 8.1% annually; £241,274 average

Semi-detached: up 0.4% monthly; up 8.2% annually; £165,311 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Conwy spent an average of £ 150,000 on their property – £11,000 more than a year ago, and £25,000 more than in September 2014.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £ 195,000 on average in September – 30.1% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Conwy compare?

Buyers paid 4.6% more than the average price in Wales (£164,000) in September for a property in Conwy. Across Wales, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £234,000.

The most expensive properties in Wales were in Monmouthshire – £276,000 on average, and 1.6 times as much as in Conwy. Monmouthshire properties cost 2.9 times as much as homes in Blaenau Gwent (£95,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average September sale price of £1.2 million could buy 15 properties in Burnley (average £85,000).

Average property price in September

Conwy: £172,044

Wales: £164,433

UK: £234,370

Annual growth to September

Conwy: +7.9%

Wales: +2.6%

UK: +1.3%

Best and worst annual growth in Wales

Conwy: +7.9%

Torfaen: +0.2%