In 2017, the average house price in Wales sat at £1.32 million. Four years later, after Brexit negotiations, a global pandemic, and an economic rollercoaster, that same house was worth £1.46 million. The market didn't just survive the chaos. It thrived.

This wasn't a sudden surge. Welsh house prices climbed methodically, year after year, as if global crises were merely background noise. In 2018, prices nudged up to £1.34 million. By 2019, they'd reached £1.33 million, dipping slightly as Brexit uncertainty peaked.

Then came 2020. While the country locked down and businesses shuttered, Welsh house prices jumped to £1.37 million. The property market, it turned out, had its own immunity to COVID-19. Mortgage holidays, stamp duty cuts, and a rush to bigger homes during lockdown all fed the frenzy.

But 2021 delivered the real shock. Prices leaped by 6.7% in a single year, reaching £1.46 million. That's an increase of £92,000 in 12 months, while many Welsh families watched their wages stagnate and energy bills soar.

The timeline reveals something uncomfortable: every crisis that hammered ordinary households seemed to boost property values instead. Brexit uncertainty? Prices kept climbing. Global pandemic? The market accelerated. Economic turmoil? House values surged ahead.

This matters because Welsh house prices now sit 10.4% higher than they were in 2017, while average wages certainly haven't kept pace. A generation of potential buyers has been priced out during four years when everything else felt uncertain.

The recent news that some Welsh areas saw 7% price rises this year suggests the pattern continues. While existing homeowners celebrate their paper wealth, first-time buyers face a market that seems immune to every force that usually brings prices down.

The numbers tell a simple story: Welsh house prices have their own economy, one that runs parallel to the struggles of ordinary Welsh families. In four years of national upheaval, property became the ultimate safe haven. The question is whether that's sustainable, or whether Wales is storing up bigger problems for the years ahead.