HOUSE prices in Wales have reached an all-time peak, with the average house price across the country now £186,699.

The figures have been released today from Principality Building Society’s Wales House Price Index for October–December 2018, which shows the rise and fall of house prices in each of the 22 local authorities in Wales.

Across the Tivyside area, the average price of a house in Ceredigion is £209,071, up 4.1 percent on 2017; in Carmarthenshire it is £163,403 (up 2.6 per cent year on year) and in Pembrokeshire the average price is £193,661 (down 1.4 per cent and one of only three regions in Wales to record a fall).

The new peak in Wales recorded in December is some £2,000 higher than the previous highest average in September 2018. The number of house sales in 2018 compared to 2017 remain broadly the same at just over 48,000.

Tom Denman, chief financial officer at Principality Building Society said: “There are a number of possible reasons why Welsh house prices are at an all-time high - interest rates are currently close to their historic low, the number of people in work is near an all-time high while average weekly earnings have risen above the rate of inflation.

“Welsh Government housing schemes have also helped would-be property owners onto, and up, the housing ladder.

“We know from a recent survey we did that a quarter of people in Wales admit Brexit is affecting whether they buy or sell a home.

“Brexit has undoubtedly affected the market but so far hasn’t dampened the market in Wales as much as England, with the number of property sales estimated to be on a par with last year.

“Affordability of homes in the country compared to areas of south-west England is likely to have helped growth, along with supply and demand.”