First-time buyers and buy-to-let investors in particular became more active during the month.
While property prices in Wales fell by 0.3% between May and June, they now stand 2.1% higher than in June 2011 at an average of £152,195.
Richard Sexton, director of e.surv, part of LSL Property Services commented: “The Welsh housing market is a long way from rude health, but the fact that sales have rebounded and house prices are rising annually in spite of the ongoing recession highlights its fundamental resilience.
“First-time buyers in Wales have been benefitting from much lower prices than other parts of the UK, but the situation is far from ideal. Restrictive mortgage lending continues to be a major obstacle, and the size of deposits required by lenders is still prohibitive for thousands. As a result, equity rich home buyers and investors are still principally driving buyer activity.”
Dr Peter Williams, housing market specialist and chairman of Acadametrics pointed out that there was a 23% increase in the number of flats sold in the three months to June 2012 compared to Q2 2011.
“Seventy per cent of the increase in flat sales has taken place in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, so one suspects that the universities in Cardiff will have played a significant role in the expansion of this market.
“An interesting question is whether prices will continue to strengthen during the autumn months of 2012, as happened in 2011, or whether the recent monthly downturns will continue into the winter months.”
