House prices increased slightly, by 0.3%, in Somerset in May, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 3.3% over the last year.

The average Somerset house price in May was £302,001, Land Registry figures show – a 0.3% increase on April.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South West, where prices decreased 0.2%, and Somerset was above the UK as a whole, where prices did not change.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Somerset rose by £9,700 – putting the area 15th among the South West’s 26 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in West Devon, where property prices increased on average by 7.5%, to £318,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Teignbridge gained 0.3% in value, giving an average price of £310,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Somerset spent an average of £243,000 on their property – £7,700 more than a year ago, and £57,000 more than in May 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £339,200 on average in May – 39.6% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of flats saw the biggest rise in property prices in Somerset in May – they increased 0.6%, to £148,176 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 2.1%.

Among other types of property:

How do property prices in Somerset compare?

Buyers paid 6.7% less than the average price in the South West (£324,000) in May for a property in Somerset. Across the South West, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost is £286,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £489,000 on average, and 1.6 times the price as in Somerset. Cotswold properties cost 2.2 times the price as homes in Plymouth (£223,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea.

Factfile

Average property price in May

Annual growth to May

Highest and lowest annual growth in the South West