House prices in Pembrokeshire have fallen by more than 11 per cent in the last year, figures released today reveal.

Principality Building Society’s Wales House Price Index, for Q3 July to September, shows that house prices in Pembrokeshire have experienced a quarterly drop of 3 per cent and an annual fall of 11.6 per cent.

Carmarthenshire experienced a similar quarterly drop of 3.4 per cent, and is down 7.0 per cent when compared year-on-year.

Ceredigion is the only county in west Wales to have recorded an increase during the third quarter, up 2.5 per cent. However, when compared to this time last year the average house price is down 6.3 per cent.

Across Wales, the average price of a home has fallen to £239,378, the first time in a decade that prices have dropped year-on-year and following three consecutive quarterly falls this year.

With a quarterly drop of 1.1 per cent and an annual drop of 2.6 per cent, the new average house price is now almost £10,000 down from its peak of just over £249,000 in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The average house price for Pembrokeshire is now £241,276. In Carmarthenshire it’s £216,711 and in Ceredigion £264,496.

The Principality data reports the rise and fall in house prices in each of the 22 local authorities in Wales.

Shaun Middleton, head of distribution at Principality Building Society, said: “The downward trend in house prices has continued into the third quarter. Economic pressures over recent months, paired with higher interest rates than we’ve become used to, means that affordability remains a problem for many buyers. This has put pressure on the housing market, which remains subdued, when compared to recent years when record average prices across Wales were seen.

“The picture across Wales shows us that more local authorities have been reporting price decreases rather than increases, translating into year-on-year falling house prices. This is a clear indication of the broad-based nature of the market’s retreat over recent months.”

There were just below 10,000 transactions in Wales in Q3, an increase on the previous two quarters of the year, but down 20 per cent on a year ago. The slower nature of activity primarily reflects the much higher interest rates over the past year and is being experienced in much of the rest of the UK as well.

“The Bank of England’s decision to leave base rate unchanged at 5.25 per cent in September, on the back of easing inflationary pressures, has prompted better mortgage deals in recent weeks,” said Shaun.

“Although affordability in Wales remains stretched and the overall benefit for consumer confidence may be limited by a growing awareness that interest rates look set to remain higher for longer. This suggests that transactions levels may continue to disappoint for some time.”

For more information go to: www.principality.co.uk/mortgages/house-price-index.