House prices leapt by 7.3% in Stroud in January, new figures show.

The significant boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 17% annual growth.

The average Stroud house price in January was £346,490, Land Registry figures show – a 7.3% increase on December.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across the South West, where prices decreased 1.1%, and Stroud outperformed the 0.4% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Stroud rose by £50,000 – putting the area sixth among the South West’s 29 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in North Devon, where property prices increased on average by 24.6%, to £331,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in the Forest of Dean gained just 6% in value, giving an average price of £283,000.

Owners of flats saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Stroud in January – they increased 7.6%, to £172,070 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 10.7%.

Among other types of property:

Detached: up 7% monthly; up 19.1% annually; £546,388 average

Semi-detached: up 7.5% monthly; up 17.6% annually; £328,126 average

Terraced: up 7.5% monthly; up 15.1% annually; £262,025 average

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in Stroud spent an average of £267,000 on their property – £37,000 more than a year ago, and £68,000 more than in January 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £392,000 on average in January – 46.6% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in Stroud compare?

Buyers paid 12.7% more than the average price in the South West (£307,000) in January for a property in Stroud. Across the South West, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £274,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £467,000 on average, and 1.3 times as much as more than in Stroud. Cotswold properties cost 2.3 times as much as homes in Plymouth (£206,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

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