House prices have risen faster in towns like Port Talbot than in cities

Port Talbot led the way, said the bank, with average prices going up by 50%. The town was third among more than 600 UK places surveyed by the bank.

Seven of the UK's top 20 towns for house price growth were in Wales.

According to the Halifax, the average price of property in Wales is now £145,940.

Behind Port Talbot in the 2004 table were Ebbw Vale and Neath, both in south Wales, where prices rose 45% and 44% respectively.

The 2004 price rise table showed a marked difference in the Welsh property market, the bank said, with growth now strongest outside the "traditional heartlands" of Cardiff and Swansea.

TOP 10 WELSH TOWNS BY AVERAGE PRICE RISE Port Talbot 50% Ebbw Vale 45% Neath 44% Merthyr Tydfil 44% Holyhead 43% Chepstow 41% Pontypool 38% Blackwood 34% Pontypridd 32% Llanelli 27%

Despite towns like Ebbw Vale and Merthyr Tydfil starting the year with relatively low price levels, demand had outstripped supply in these areas because buyers saw housing as more affordable.

Holyhead, Chepstow and Pontypool were also among the top 20 best-performing towns in the UK.

Chepstow was still ranked as the most expensive town to buy a house in Wales, with the average home there now costing £248,269 - an increase of 41%.

Penarth stayed in second place with an average house price of £191,015.

The cheapest place to buy a home in Wales was Aberdare, where average prices were £85,638 and had risen by a relatively modest 24% since 2003.

But the most expensive places to live in the UK were still found in southern England - the average house price in Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire was the highest at £627,660.