House prices increased slightly, by 0.1 per cent, in Swindon in February, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 5.3 per cent annual growth.

The average Swindon house price in February was £224,382, Land Registry figures show – a 0.1 per cent increase on January.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across the South West, where prices remained static, and Swindon outperformed the UK as a whole, where prices did not change.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Swindon rose by £11,000 – putting the area 28th among the South West’s 32 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Bath & North East Somerset, where property prices increased on average by 18.7 per cent, to £394,000.

At the other end of the scale was Exeter on 1.4 per cent.

Winners and Losers

Owners of flats saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Swindon in February – they increased 0.8 per cent, to £139,912 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 3.1 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 0.3 per cent monthly; up 5.5 per cent annually; £388,414 average

Semi-detached: remained level over the month; up 5.4 per cent annually; £246,634 average

Terraced: up 0.1 per cent monthly; up 5.9 per cent annually; £196,627 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Swindon spent an average of £192,800 on their property – £9,400 more than a year ago, and £27,100 more than in January 2016.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £258,100 on average in February – 33.9 per cent more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Swindon compare?

Buyers paid 19.6 per cent less than the average price in the South West (£279,000) in February for a property in Swindon.

Across the region, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £250,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in the Cotswolds – £404,000 on average, and 1.8 times as much as in Swindon.

The Cotswolds properties cost 2.2 times as much as homes in Plymouth (£184,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average February sale price of £1.2 million could buy 13 properties in Hyndburn (average £92,000).

Factfile

Average property price in February

Swindon: £224,382

The South West: £279,242

UK: £250,341

Annual growth to February

Swindon: +5.3 per cent

The South West: +9 per cent

UK: +8.6 per cent

Best and worst annual growth in the South West

Bath & North East Somerset: +18.7 per cent

Exeter: +1.4 per cent