House prices increased in the Cotswolds in March, new figures show.

​The ​boost ​contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area ​achieve 2.9 percent annual growth​.

The average the Cotswolds house price in March was £386,269, Land Registry figures show​ – a 1.4 percent increase on February.

Over the month, the picture was ​less good than that across the South West, where prices ​increased 2 percent​, and the Cotswolds outperformed the 0.2 percent drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in the Cotswolds ​​rose by £11,000 – putting the ​area 14th among the South West’s 36 local authorities for annual growth.

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in the Cotswolds in March – they increased 1.8 percent, to £577,198 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 3 percent.

Semi-detached was up 1.5 percent monthly; up 3.4 percent annually; to £351,910 on average.

Terraced was up 1 percent monthly; up 3 percent annually; to £302,361 on average.

Flats was up 0.9 percent monthly; up 1 percent annually; to £184,682 on average.

First-time buyers in the Cotswolds spent an average of £​291,900 on their property – ​£7,700 more than a year ago, ​and ​£51,000 more than in March 2015.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £​428,800 on average in March​ – 46.9 percent more than first-time buyers.​

Buyers paid more for properties in the Cotswolds than anywhere else in the South West in March.

The average price paid would buy 2.2 homes in Plymouth (£179,000), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average March sale price of £1.4 million could buy 16 properties in Burnley (average £86,000).

Across the South West, property prices are ​high compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £232,000.