Old fashioned and attractive, with retro charm, market towns are the Morris Travelers of the property world.
They are also popular with house buyers, commanding a premium of more then £30,000 over neighbouring towns, according to Lloyds Bank research. And that is down to a traditional sense of community.
“Typically they are full of independent shops and cafes, where young and old mix, giving them an inclusive quality you seldom find elsewhere”, says Luke Morgan, director of Strutt & Parker’s Country Department. “Smaller than cities and bigger than villages, they offer rural life but with added amenities”.
Carol Peett of West Wales Property Finders has found country market towns are ideal for those wanting to be part of a vibrant community.
“If you walk into a market town to do some shopping and have a coffee, you can guarantee you’ll end up getting to know people”, says Peett. “You don’t get that in a surburban supermarket”.
There is also a commercial energy behind our best market towns. They are the optimum size to revive the fortunes of the High Street, under threat from on-line shopping and out-of-town supermarkets…….
Narberth in Pembrokeshire is a prime example. It was a busy little place until the Eighties when businesses started to close. Happily, it was small enough for the local people to plot their own revival.
The Council cut business rates to a minimum and a new generation of imaginative traders moved in. Today it is full of life, well known for its shops, galleries, jewellers, artisan ice creamery and deli-tapas bar.
The average sold price for a detached house in the town was £251,477 last year and terraced houses went for £126,733 according to Rightmove……
What is the attraction? “They simply offer a better way of life”, says writer Mandy Blake, 37, who has sold her two bedroom terraced house in Sandwich, Kent for £350,000 and bought a four bedroom detached house near Narberth, Pembrokeshire for the same price. She says “You can commute to London with the same people every day without even making eye contact. In a market town, everybody talks to one another”.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/property/article-6243497/Market-towns-command-premium-30-000-neighbouring-towns.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490 – Daily Mail Friday October 5th 2018
If you are thinking of moving to Narberth or buying a property anywhere in Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire or Ceredigion, give Carol Peett at West Wales Property Finders a call on 01834 862816. We can find the perfect property for you whilst saving you time, stress and often money too. http://www.westwalespropertyfinders.co.uk
