OVER the last year, the average sale price of property in Stroud rose by £57,000 – putting the area fourth among the South West’s 29 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

House prices increased by 2.6% – more than the average for the South West – in Stroud in August alone, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 19.2% over the last year.

Buyers paid 6.1% more than the average price in the South West (£336,000) in August for a property in Stroud. Across the South West, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £296,000.

The average Stroud house price in August was £356,365, Land Registry figures show – a 2.6% increase on July.

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Stroud in August – they increased 2.7%, to £271,654 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 18.5%.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South West, where prices increased 1.3%, and Stroud was above the 0.9% rise for the UK as a whole.

First-time buyers in Stroud spent an average of £276,000 on their property – £43,000 more than a year ago, and £54,000 more than in August 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £402,000 on average in August – 46% more than first-time buyers.

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Experts say expectations have changed significantly in recent weeks amid mortgage rate rises, with the likelihood of a dampening effect on house price growth.

According to figures from Moneyfacts.co.uk On Wednesday, the average two-year fixed-rate mortgage on the market has a rate of 6.52% and the average five-year fix is at 6.36%.

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There are around 900 fewer mortgage products available than there were on the day of the mini-budget in September.

Chris Druce, senior research analyst at Knight Frank, said: “Current activity in the housing market is being shaped by mortgage status.

“Those that can are pushing on and securing deals ahead of further increases, while others have paused plans to digest events.

“With affordability set to be a growing barrier for many homebuyers in the coming months, we forecast house price growth will slow from here, with price falls in 2023.”