House prices in Monmouthshire dropped slightly in April, new figures show.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show the average Monmouthshire house price in the year to April was £323,549 – a 0.6% decrease on March.

The picture was different to that across Wales, where prices increased by 0.3%.

The drop in Monmouthshire does not reverse the longer-term trend in the area, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 2.6% over the last year.

It means the area ranked 15th among Wales’s 22 local authorities for annual growth, with the average price in Monmouthshire rising by £8,300 over the past year.

The highest annual growth in Wales was in Bridgend, where property prices increased on average by 9.5%.

At the other end of the scale, properties in Ceredigion lost 5.5% of their value.

Across the UK, average house prices increased 3.5% over the past year, halving from 7.0% annual growth recorded in March this year.

ONS head of housing market indices Aimee North said: "UK annual house price inflation slowed in April, following changes to stamp duty land tax in England and Northern Ireland. The average home in the UK now costs around £265,000.

"The North East once again showed the highest annual increase, and the South West showed the lowest annual growth. London was the only English region where annual inflation rose this month."

The figures were released on the same day the ONS said the rate of Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation was 3.4% in May. Many economists had been expecting the CPI rate to come in at 3.3% for the month.

Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank said: "The UK housing market is still in recovery mode after the stamp duty cliff edge in April but prices are being kept firmly in check by an overhang of supply.

"We don't expect a rate cut before August but the weak state of the UK economy is putting downwards pressure on mortgage rates, which should support demand in the short-term."

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance, Hargreaves Lansdown said: "For anyone hoping to get onto the property ladder, there’s little hope that property prices will fall to make your life easier.

"It means it's worth investigating any help you can get – whether that’s the Government bonus from the Lifetime Isa, a family mortgage, or more help from the bank of mum and dad."