House prices increased by 3.4% in the Forest of Dean in February, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 14.2% annual growth – the highest in the South West.

The average the Forest of Dean house price in February was £334,965, Land Registry figures show – a 3.4% increase on January.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across the South West, where prices decreased 1.2%, and the Forest of Dean outperformed the 1% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in the Forest of Dean rose by £42,000 – putting the area top among the South West’s 26 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

At the other end of the scale, properties in South Hams gained just 0.8% in value, giving an average price of £392,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in the Forest of Dean in February – they increased 3.7%, to £447,975 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 14.7%.

Among other types of property:

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in the Forest of Dean spent an average of £263,000 on their property – £33,000 more than a year ago, and £82,000 more than in February 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £373,000 on average in February – 41.6% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in the Forest of Dean compare?

Buyers paid 2.6% more than the average price in the South West (£327,000) in February for a property in the Forest of Dean. Across the South West, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £288,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £495,000 on average, and 1.5 times as much as more than in the Forest of Dean. Cotswold properties cost 2.2 times as much as homes in Plymouth (£221,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in 160.

Factfile

Average property price in February

Annual growth to February

Best and worst annual growth in the South West