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A lack of new homes being built in Bristol is continuing to drive up property prices, a new report has found.

The average price of new build apartments in the city rose 2.5% over the past year, the latest Big Six Residential Development Report from real estate firm JLL found.

One-bedroom flats saw the biggest increase in demand from buyers over the last 12 months, with prices rising 6%.

The research, which covers the cities of Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh and Glasgow, revealed average rents in Bristol also rose by 2.4% in the same period.

This follows a period of sustained growth for property prices and rents in the city over the past five years, which have risen by 14.4% and 34% respectively.

Nicholas Rumble, director of residential development in Bristol, said: “Bristol is a city that remains a popular destination for university students to study, with an increasing number also choosing to remain in the city after their studies. Demand therefore continues to be high and is unlikely to wane anytime soon.

“At the same time there is a continuing undersupply of new stock being brought to market for both sale and rent. This is what has driven the long-term increase in both prices and rents, and why this growth shows no signs of stopping in the short-to-medium term.”

National housebuilding has fallen to its lowest level in almost a decade in the first half of the year, with the report revealing just over 200,000 new homes were completed in the past 12 months – down 8% on the previous year and 17% lower than the most recent peak in 2022.