House prices dropped slightly in Torfaen in August, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 3.2 per cent annual growth .

The average Torfaen house price in August was £149,379, Land Registry figures show – a 0.6 per cent decrease on July.

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Over the month, the picture was worse than that across Wales, where prices increased 2.3 per cent, and Torfaen underperformed compared to the 0.8 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Torfaen rose by £4,600 – putting the area 16th among Wales’s 22 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in Blaenau Gwent, where properties increased on average by 12.5 per cent, to £97,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Powys dropped 3.3 per cent in value, giving an average price of £179,000.

Owners of flats fared worst in Torfaen in August – they dropped 1.5 per cent in price, to £78,673 on average . But over the last year, prices rose by 0.7 per cent.

Among other types of property:

Detached: down 0.2 per cent monthly; up 3.8 per cent annually; £255,045 average

Semi-detached: down 0.7 per cent monthly; up 3.3 per cent annually; £150,745 average

Terraced: down 0.7 per cent monthly; up 2.9 per cent annually; £119,847 average

First-time buyers in Torfaen spent an average of £ 127,900 on their property – £3,700 more than a year ago, and £23,500 more than in August 2014.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £ 172,700 on average in August – 35.1per cent more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Torfaen compare?

Buyers paid 11.3% less than the average price in Wales (£168,000) in August for a property in Torfaen. Across Wales, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £235,000.

The most expensive properties in Wales were in Monmouthshire – £275,000 on average, and 1.8 times as much as in Torfaen. Monmouthshire properties cost 2.8 times as much as homes in Blaenau Gwent (£97,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average August sale price of £1.3 million could buy 15 properties in Burnley (average £84,000).

Factfile

Average property price in August

Torfaen: £149,379

Wales: £168,318

UK: £234,853

Annual growth to August

Torfaen: +3.2 per cent

Wales: +4.5 per cent

UK: +1.3 per cent

Best and worst annual growth in Wales

Blaenau Gwent: +12.5 per cent

Powys: -3.3 per cent