The pandemic-fuelled property rush and staycation boom amped up house prices in holiday favourites around Britain. A beach hut in stylish Wells-Next-The-Sea in Norfolk is currently on sale for £80,000 while in Truro, Cornwall, a plot of under half an acre of land is listed for £895,000.
The solution for buyers who want a second property – or a main home in a lifestyle-changing location – but can’t pay these kinds of prices, is to forget about buying in a hotspot. Search instead for undervalued gems where prices are currently low but are starting to surge.
New research by estate agency Hamptons has pinpointed the best value holiday home locations across the West Country, Norfolk, Wales, and North Yorkshire, where you can get more house for your money.
Pembrokeshire
Tenby’s property market soared during the pandemic. Average prices in this ancient harbour town have shot up 14pc since 2019, making it Wales’s most expensive coastal location. But its average price, of £280,630, masks the real cost of would-be holiday homes in the town, as you’ll pay a big premium for sea views.
On the county’s slightly less accessible north coast, Fishguard, set in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, has also recorded two year price growth of 14pc. But its average prices are more affordable, at £214,470, suggesting that there is still room for growth.
Fishguard is a town of two halves: the old town and harbour, with its narrow streets and cute restaurants, is pretty and was used as the backdrop for classic films like Under Milk Wood with Richard Burton and Moby Dick with Gregory Peck. But the main town is more workaday – think streets and streets of bungalows and boxy houses.
Wherever you are based, Fishguard has plenty on offer for outdoorsy types. You can watch seals and dolphins from Strumble Head or hang out at Abermawr or Cwm-yr-Eglwys beaches. The local countryside is stunning, and ideal for hiking and biking.
Fishguard’s reputation as a port (it is Wales’s main ferry terminal for services to Ireland) is what deters buyers, said Carol Peett, of buying agency West Wales Property Finders http://www.westwalespropertyfinders.co.uk. “Now that there is a bypass the town doesn’t get any of the ferry traffic, but it still hasn’t shaken off that reputation,” she added.
As a result, a three-bedroom character cottage in Fishguard would cost up to £400,000, if it had sea views, estimated Ms Peett. A similar home in Tenby would cost in excess of £800,000.
Devon and Cornwall
The most expensive options in the West Country are the super resorts of Salcombe, with its sailing and sandy beaches, and Padstow, the region’s gastronomic heartland.
Average prices stand at £736,530 in Salcombe, up 4pc since 2019, and £597,550 in Padstow, up 14pc in the same period. You would need to budget far more if you wanted a sea view in either.
Buyers looking for more affordable alternatives are turning to Torrington, in north Devon, ten miles inland of the beach at Westward Ho! Property prices here are among the lowest in the county, at an average of £275,270. They have shot up 18pc since 2019……
The Daily Telegraph – 12th April 2022 – https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/buy/find-best-value-for-money-holiday-homes-britain/
