House prices increased by 1.7% – more than the average for the South West – in Dorset in March, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 1.3% over the last year.

The average Dorset house price in March was £360,812. Land Registry figures show a 1.7% increase on February.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South West, where prices increased 0.2%, and Dorset was above the 0.7% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Dorset rose by £4,500 – putting the area 11th among the South West’s 26 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Stroud, where property prices increased on average by 9.8%, to £357,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in the Forest of Dean lost 5.5% of their value, giving an average price of £290,000.

First steps on the property ladder First-time buyers in Dorset spent an average of £282,200 on their property – £4,000 more than a year ago, and £55,100 more than in March 2019.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £403,300 on average in March – 42.9% more than first-time buyers.

Property types Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Dorset in March – they increased 1.9%, to £356,334 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 2.9%.

Among other types of property: Detached: up 1.6% monthly; up 1% annually; £531,697 average Terraced: up 1.7% monthly; up 1.9% annually; £284,261 average Flats: up 1.8% monthly; down 0.3% annually; £195,058 average How do property prices in Dorset compare?

Buyers paid 14.1% more than the average price in the South West (£316,000) in March for a property in Dorset. Across the South West, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost is £283,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £496,000 on average, and 1.4 times the price as in Dorset. Cotswold properties cost 2.2 times the price as homes in Plymouth (£221,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea.

Factfile Average property price in March Dorset: £360,812 The South West: £316,262 UK: £282,776 Annual growth to March Dorset: +1.3% The South West: +0.5% UK: +1.8% Highest and lowest annual growth in the South West Stroud: +9.8% The Forest of Dean: -5.5%