Pembrokeshire house prices rise in first quarter of 2023

The figures have been released from Principality Building Society’s Wales House Price Index for Q1 2023 (January-March), which demonstrates the rise and fall in house prices in each of the 22 local authorities in Wales.

Principality’s report shows that Pembrokeshire experienced an annual increase of 5%, and a quarterly increase of just over 1%.

Both Carmarthenshire (£225,938) and Ceredigion (£284,813) reported annual increases of 6.4% and 8.6% but dipped on the quarter by 4.1% and 1.6% respectively.

Across Wales, the average house price has fallen to £245,101 at the start of 2023 – the first drop since the Covid pandemic - down 1.6% on last quarter’s record high of just over £249,000.

The quarterly drop has meant that compared to the same period the previous year, the annual house price in Wales has risen by 5%, half the rate of three months earlier and the lowest annual increase since 2020.

Shaun Middleton, Head of Distribution at Principality Building Society, said: “Much like the rest of the UK, housing market conditions in Wales are more subdued than in previous quarters.

"We are at a point in the housing market cycle where wider economic factors are weighing more heavily on, and affecting the existing underlying demand for homes.

"Future prices will be determined by key variables such as the movement of interest rates, inflation, and the impact of the cost of living crisis.

“The radical shift in mortgage rates over the last year cannot be disregarded, moving from a decade at around 2% to closer to 5% in the space of 12 months We expect rates to settle around this level for the remainder of 2023 and into 2024."

He added: "We are seeing increased signs of lenders competing to attract business: rates have been edging down and lenders are looking for new ways to support borrowers who are struggling with mortgage affordability.

“The picture across Wales in terms of Q1 price movements was quite varied, and we would expect this to continue.

"Although there have been suggestions of a major housing market correction, such gloomy views have softened in recent weeks, reflecting the slightly better-than-expected performance of the UK economy.

"There are some positives that the market is settling to its new level.”

Transaction levels across Wales were hit significantly following last autumn’s mini-budget and the subsequent increase in interest and mortgage rates.

As a result, activity in January-March 2023 was the weakest since 2020 pandemic levels, with sales down 17% year on year and 26% quarterly to a figure of just over 9100 transactions.