House prices increased slightly in Swindon in December, new figures show.

The average Swindon house price in December was £214,399, Land Registry figures show​ – a 0.5 per cent increase on November.

​But the ​boost ​does not reverse the longer-term trend which has seen property prices in the area ​suffer a 0.6 per cent annual decline​.

Over the month, the picture was ​worse than that across the south west, where prices ​increased 1.3% per cent, but Swindon outperformed the 0.3 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Swindon ​​remained level – putting the ​area 31st among the south west’s 36 local authorities for annual growth.

​The best annual growth in the region was in North Devon, where properties increased on average by 8 per cent, to £255,000. ​

At the other end of the scale, properties in Cheltenham dropped 4.5 per cent in value, giving an average price of £265,000.

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Swindon in December – they increased 1 per cent to £372,743 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 0.3 per cent.

Semi-detached house prices were up 0.6 per cent monthly, up 0.2 per cent annually, £236,315 average.

Terraced house prices were up 0.2 per cent monthly and down 1 per cent annually, £185,385 average.

Flat prices went up 0.1 per cent monthly but down 2.5 per cent annually, £136,524 average.

First-time buyers in Swindon spent an average of £​184,100 on their property – ​£1,700 less than a year ago, ​and ​£37,000 more than in December 2014.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £​246,700 on average in December​ – 34 per cent more than first-time buyers.