House prices increased by 1% – more than the average for Wales – in Wrexham in March, new figures show.

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 12.8% annual growth.

The average Wrexham house price in March was £198,184, Land Registry figures show – a 1% increase on February.

READ MORE: Wrexham house prices: Most expensive areas revealed

Over the month, the picture was better than that across Wales, where prices increased 0.4%, and Wrexham outperformed the 0.3% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Wrexham rose by £23,000 – putting the area 13th among Wales’s 22 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

Winners and Losers

Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Wrexham in March – they increased 1.2%, to £179,198 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 12.5%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 1% monthly; up 14.7% annually; £292,778 average

Terraced: up 0.7% monthly; up 11% annually; £147,993 average

Flats: up 1.1% monthly; up 10.9% annually; £101,692 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Wrexham spent an average of £172,000 on their property – £19,000 more than a year ago, and £39,000 more than in March 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £228,000 on average in March – 32.7% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Wrexham compare?

Buyers paid 4% less than the average price in Wales (£206,000) in March for a property in Wrexham. Across Wales, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £278,000.

READ MORE: This is how much the average price of a Wrexham house costs

The most expensive properties in Wales were in Monmouthshire – £342,000 on average, and 1.7 times as much as more than in Wrexham. Monmouthshire properties cost 2.7 times as much as homes in Blaenau Gwent (£126,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

Average property price in March

Wrexham: £198,184

Wales: £206,395

UK: £278,436

Annual growth to March

Wrexham: +12.8%

Wales: +11.7%

UK: +9.8%