House sales get a boost from buyer confidence

THE average house price in Wales is £238,098, shows new research from Principality Building Society. Its latest Wales house price index, covering the second quarter (Q2) of the year, shows the average house price up 0.7% year-on-year (£236,369) and just 4.6% below its peak of £249,000 in 2022. On the previous quarter the average house price in Wales was down 0.1%.

- SION BARRY Business editor

Despite ongoing affordability pressures, the steady rise in the number of transactions which reached over 10,000 in Q2 (up 13% on last year) suggests growing buyer confidence despite persistent cost-of-living challenges and elevated rates.

Torfaen recorded the highest quarterly price change of any local authority at 14%, driven by high-value sales and limited housing supply. Carmarthenshire also reported an increase of 6.3%, while Flintshire saw a 3.3% quarterly rise.

Other areas, including Gwynedd, saw prices fall in the second quarter, dropping 7.3% from the first quarter of 2025. A drop likely influenced by policy shifts such as the Welsh Government's adjustments to second home taxation and the impact of new planning regulations.