Move over Cornwall, Wales has taken the top spot, thanks to its rugged scenery and more affordable property, writes Ruth Bloomfield.
For years Cornwall has been Britain’s holiday home hotspot – so much so that some towns in the county cracked down on the sale of second properties to outsiders.
But recently its crown has slipped. Wales, with its glorious countryside, beautiful coastline and, crucially, affordable property, has been propelled into the top spot for the most popular second home locations…..
The average price of a home in Pembrokeshire, according to Savills, stands at £205,818, up 5.9% in the past two years. This sort of budget would buy a two bedroom house or flat in Tenby. If it was rented out for 33 weeks, the median occupancy rate, at £632 pw, the average according to holiday rental website Cottages.com, that would create an annual yield of 10%. Even if it was rented out for 15 weeks per year, the yield would still be 4.6%.
The most popular locations for holiday lets on the website are coastal; top of this list is Tenby and neighbouring Saundersfoot in Pembrokeshire. Also highly popular is Barmouth in Cardigan Bay and Llandeilo, west of the Brecon Beacons.
For Luke Hansford, of Awaze, the parent company of Cottages.com, the appeal of Wales to staycationers is that it is less crowded and developed than most of the West Country. They can enjoy the local landscape in relative peace, which makes it a more social distancing friendly option than, say, Newquay.
The stamp duty holiday, as well as the boom in staycations and travel restrictions, has put the property markets in many of these places into overdrive. Carol Peett, of buying agent West Wales Property Finders, http://www.westwalespropertyfinders.co.uk said: There is very little on the market; the minute anything goes up for sale it gets snapped up – often for well over asking price. We have never seen tings so busy and the lack of properties on the market is a big problem”….
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/uk/move-cornwall-britains-new-holiday-let-capital-wales/ The Daily Telegraph – Saturday, 20th February 2021
If you are looking to buy a property in Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire or Ceredigion, give West Wales Property Finders a call on 01834 862615. We can find the perfect property for you whilst saving you time, stress and often money too.
