HOUSE prices in Wiltshire increased at a higher rate than average in 2018, while homes in Swindon have stagnated and saw no increase at all. Average house prices have risen three per cent from £271,981 in December 2017 to £280,041 by December 2018, according to Land Registry data. Figures are just ahead of the national average of 2.6 per cent house price rise.

Tim Mason of Town and Country estate agents in Trowbridge agreed with the figures.

He said: “A one to three per cent rise in house values is fair and we have a wide range of properties on the market at the moment. Wer have the one bedroomed home for £90k but I also have a castle on at West Ashton for £850k so there isn’t a trend as far as what people are putting on the market are concerned.

“We haven’t seen the negative impact that there have been concerns Brexit could have had an in fact we have had the busiest December and January in the last several years. People are still needing to buy and sell and I think people can see it’s been dragging on for two and half years now so we haven’t seen that impact we might have expected.”

Nationally the largest increase was in Newport where prices rose 10 per cent but in Aberdeen homes dropped by 6.5 per cent in value.

Renting has increased by five per cent compared to last year in the South West up from £817 to £859.

Renters in the South West also face giving away the largest slice of their wages for rent. Apart from London, people in the South west were left with less cash after paying for rent each months than anywhere else in the country. On average, 32.8 per cent is spent on rent in the area.

However there is good news for social housing renters after Wiltshire Council announced a one per cent drop in monthly living costs in its draft budget papers. The drop will mean that people renting a two bedroom house from Wiltshire Council will see their bills lower by on average 93p per week.

Wiltshire Council draft budget papers revealed: “The effect in 2019/20 for Wiltshire Council following Government rent setting policy is to reduce the average formula or target rent by one per cent.

"This equates to an average actual social rent reduction of £0.93 per week.

“This will now apply to all properties in 2019/20.

"For two bedroom properties, the average 2018/19 rent (social and sheltered) was £87.59 per week (52 week rent) which will fall to an average of £86.88 for 2019/20. For three bedroom properties, the fall would be from £95.38 to £94.53.”