Which parts of Wales have seen the biggest (and smallest) rises in house prices since 1995?
Which places have seen the biggest rise in house prices in Wales?
These are the places in Wales where house prices have increased most (and least) in the last 20 years.
The Office for National Statistics have broken down average house prices for the last 20 years for every small neighbourhood in England and Wales to find out which areas of Wales have seen the biggest average house price growth.
Here are the Top 10 in Wales
1. Pillgwenlly, Newport: 469% rise
The area around the Newport Transporter Bridge has seen the biggest house price increases in Wales. There has been major regeneration and building work here, including the International Sports Village.
This doesn't include all of Cwmbran, but the south and south-eastern areas like Oakfield and Llantarnam.
7. Cefn Cribwr and Kenfig Hill, Bridgend: 129%
Jaggery
Cefn Cribwr
8. Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent: 129%
The Gwent Archives, built on the site of the old Ebbw Vale Steel Works
9. Pentre and Ton Pentre, RCT: 129%
Google Streetview
Ton Pentre railway station
10. Sandfields, Port Talbot: 131%
Chris Shaw
The top performers
When looking at areas that have out-performed their neighbours, property prices in Hengoed have increased twice as fast as its neighbours since 1995.
Property prices in this area of Caerphilly have risen from £36,099 in 1995 to £161,348 in 2015 - an increase of 347%, placing it in the top fifth of areas nationally for its performance.
Yes, nationally.
This is when most areas in Wales have seen house prices grow at a slower than the average rate for England and Wales since 1995.
Anyone owning a house in the area is likely to have seen its value skyrocket in comparison to people living nearby in the villages of Bryn, Gelligroes and Pontllanfraith where prices have only increased by 173%, putting it in the bottom fifth of performers.
It's all about location, location, location, but hey, that's still a significant rise.
Other Welsh hotspots
The Alexandra Dock area of Newport has seen a 469% rise in property values over this 20-year period, with major regeneration and building work occurring, including the International Sports Village.
Parts of the gorgeous Llyn Peninsula in Gwynedd have experienced a 376% rise, while the west of Anglesey saw a 376% rise, possibly due to the connection to Prince William and Kate.
What about the capital?
There are two prominent Cardiff areas where we wish we had bought a property 20 years ago and they occupy the 5th and 9th hottest spots for growth in the Welsh top ten.
Pontcanna has seen a 345% rise probably due to the area becoming super trendy, plus Grangetown has enjoyed a 334% rise, with its proximity to both the city centre and Cardiff Bay.
And the best hot spot in the UK?
The Victoria station area of Westminster in London has seen house prices increase by more than any other part of the country over this time period with prices up by more than 1,200% from £173,400 to £2.3 million. Wow.
Creative Commons
London's Victoria Station
Why have these areas seen such an increase?
It could be argued that when considered on this small a scale, house prices vary wildly across the country with some pockets of neighbourhoods in otherwise poor areas rapidly increasing in value over the past two decades.
There is also the well-known 'Ripple Effect', when one neighbourhood increases rapidly in popularity and sees fast rises in property prices, the neighbouring areas start to increase in value as house hunters are priced out of the original area.
Such is the case with the rise in popularity of Pontcanna and its 'Ripple Effect' on places like Canton.
You can see much more detail in this map. Areas in green have improved the most, appearing in the top fifth of UK performers.
Red areas have performed the slowest, appearing in the bottom fifth of the UK league table of growth. Yellow areas have seen steady, mid-table growth
