House prices dropped in Swindon in August, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse a longer-term trend which has seen property prices in the area achieve 1.6 per cent annual growth.

The average Swindon house price in August was £215,979, Land Registry figures show- a 1.3 per cent decrease on July.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across the south west, where prices remained static, and Swindon underperformed compared to the 0.7 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Swindon rose by £3,400 – putting the area 19th among the region's 36 local authorities for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in North Devon, where properties increased on average by 8.7 per cent, to £268,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in West Devon dropped 3.7 per cent in value, giving an average price of £245,000.

Owners of flats fared worst in Swindon in August – they dropped 1.8 per cent in price, to £134,622 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 1.8 per cent.

Detached homes were down 1.3 per cent monthly and up 2.2 per cent annually with an average price of £373,790.

Semi-detached houses dipped1.2 per cent monthly and up 2.8 per cent annually, £238,949 on average.

Terraced properties were down 1.1 per cent monthly and up 1.9 per cent annually, with a £188,328 average price.

First-time buyers in Swindon spent an average of £185,500 on their property – £2,500 more than a year ago, and £29,400 more than in August 2015.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £248,600 on average in August – 34 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Buyers paid 18.5 per cent less than the average price in the south west (£265,000) in August for a property in Swindon. Across the region, property prices are lower than those across the UK, where the average cost £239,000.

The most expensive properties in the South West were in the Cotswolds – £412,000 on average, and 1.9 times as much as in Swindon. The Cotswolds properties cost 2.2 times as much as homes in Plymouth (£184,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average August sale price of £1.4 million could buy 15 properties in Burnley (average £91,000).