HOUSE prices increased slightly in the Cotswold in April, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 12.4% over the last year.

An imbalance between supply and demand for properties has remained the primary reason behind climbing house prices across the UK throughout the pandemic.

The need for larger deposits and constraints on accessing mortgages have pushed homeownership further out of reach for many first-time buyers – despite Government figures showing 50% of renters would be able to afford the monthly payments.

In a recent major speech in Blackpool, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a “comprehensive review” of the mortgage market would take place in a bid to help more people onto the property ladder.

The average Cotswold house price in April was £471,150, Land Registry figures show – a 0.4% increase on March.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South West, where prices increased 1.9%, and Cotswold was lower than the 1.1% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Cotswold rose by £52,000 – putting the area 17th among the South West’s 29 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in North Devon, where property prices increased on average by 20.8%, to £333,000.

At the other end of the scale, properties in West Devon gained just 4% in value, giving an average price of £289,000.

First-time buyers in Cotswold spent an average of £352,000 on their property – £35,000 more than a year ago, and £86,000 more than in April 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £527,000 on average in April – 49.8% more than first-time buyers.

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Cotswold in April – they increased 0.5%, to £719,338 on average.

Over the last year, prices rose by 14.4%.

Factfile:

Average property price in April

Cotswold: £471,150

South West: £318,610

UK: £281,161