Average house price in Wales hits all time high amid housing crisis

The average house price in Wales has hit an all time high amid a housing crisis.

According to the latest research from the Principality Building Society the average price for a house in Wales has shot up to £218,783.

The Wales House Price Index figures for Q3 show an annual house price increase of 11.5%, as many young people are priced out of the market and struggle to get on the housing ladder.

It shows a quarterly change of 1.4%, while transactions between Q3 2020 and Q3 2021 have gone up by 52%.

Over the weekend campaigners have gathered in front of the Senedd to call on the Welsh Government to act on the housing crisis.

Cymdeithas yr Iaith’s calls include asking for a Property Act to regulate house prices and rent so that they are affordable for people living on local incomes.

Principality has partnered with Acadata on the House Price Index (HPI), which average property price in each of the 22 local authorities across Wales. They release data every quarter.

The latest report shows that property prices in Q3 were up on the year before in each of Wales’ local authority areas. In nine out of 22 of Wales’ local authorities, they were up by more than 15%.

‘Up in all areas’ 

The report said: “Property prices in Q3 were up in all areas when comparing the last 12 months with the previous 12, and by more than 15% in nine of the 22 local authority areas.

“The stand-out local authorities were Blaenau Gwent and Wrexham, both reporting annual price increases of more than 20%, though another 10 areas including the cities of Cardiff, Newport and Swansea recorded double digit increases.”

Tom Denman, Chief Financial Officer at Principality Building Society, said: “The Welsh housing market, like those elsewhere in the UK has outperformed expectations this year.

“Demand has been higher and more resilient than many expected, and although market support in the shape of the Land Transaction Tax holiday and furlough payments has now ended, the scale of pent-up demand has been such, aided by savings accumulated in lockdown and continued low mortgage rates, that the market has continued to flourish.

“Going into the fourth quarter and into 2022, we can see that price expectations have been lowered and the rate of growth has slowed.

“Clearly there is now an expectation that interest rates will rise in the near term, albeit on a modest basis, and that this will still have an impact for many households and not least those active in buying and moving homes.”

‘Unaffordable homes’ 

Speaking on the housing crisis, Cymdeithas yr Iaith chair Mabli Siriol Jones said that the problem of unaffordable homes and rents was one that was felt across the country.

“People see the injustice of the housing and planning system in their daily lives, all over the country. It is not right that some have more than one house, while others are homeless,” she said.

“The evidence is clear — be it the people who have to choose between paying for heat or rent; the young people who have to leave their community to be able to afford a home; or the people who see the life of their communities in decline because of luxury second homes that remain vacant for most of the year.

“The free market is at the heart of these Wales-wide problems, which manifest themselves in a variety of ways in our communities. But this is the result of political decisions, and things can be done differently. We have won before, and if we pull together as communities and campaign hard, we will sooner or later see a transformed housing and property system. Together, we have the power.”