HOUSE prices continue to rise at the fastest rate annually across North Wales' counties - except Denbighshire - figures show.

Figures released by Principality Building Society’s Wales House Price Index for Q1 2022 demonstrate the rise and fall in house prices in each of the 22 local authorities in Wales.

House prices in Conwy rose by 11.8% to reach a record high during the first quarter of 2022 (January-March) of £239,159.

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Anglesey (£255,530), Flintshire (£225,324), Gwynedd (£229,967) and Wrexham (£219,661) also reached peak prices in Q1 rising by 6.0%, 6.1%, 8.7% and 10.3% respectively when compared with the same time last year.

Denbighshire stands out as the only local authority in Wales to record a decrease in house prices annually, dropping by 5.9% to £197,452. Prices dropped in Denbighshire over the quarter too by 4.1%, a pattern which has continued for several quarters since its peak price in June 2021.

Across Wales, house prices rose by 3% in the first quarter of 2022 and by 9.7% annually to a new record average price of £233,361. However, transactions in the first quarter are estimated to have been 4% lower than a year earlier, the second quarter in a row of lower sales.

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Tom Denman, Chief Financial Officer at Principality Building Society, said: “Despite the strong headline performance, the underlying data gives some support to the view that the market in Wales may be beginning to slow. With cost of living pressures mounting and consumer confidence falling, it is possible that demand within Wales is moderating.

“None of this should be taken to mean that the market is moving into recession, far from it, but there is a sense here of a slowing market. The question now is whether households will hold back either entering the housing market or trading up due to the current uncertain conditions.”