Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr's house prices are catching up

The cheaper housing hotspots of Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr Tydfil topped the league table with prices going up by nearly 30% in a year.

It is the third time in a row that the two areas have topped the Land Registry's property price figures.

House prices across Wales were found to have risen by an average 7.5%.

The latest residential property price figures, published on Tuesday, show Welsh house prices rising significantly.

It is the third consecutive quarter that Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr Tydfil have topped the Land Registry's tables.

Sales drop

From July to September 2005 house prices across Wales rose by 7.4% compared with the same period last year.

In Merthyr, a prospective house-hunter in 2004 could snap up a bargain with the average house price coming in at just under �65,000.

Now, the same house would have risen in price by almost 28% with Blaenau Gwent also boasting an average 28% increase.

The Land Registry figures show all 'economic' regions in England and Wales had increases in average prices - with the volume of sales dropping by 15%.