It may be dominating the news agenda and paralysing Parliament but it seems that Brexit has given Pembrokeshire an uplift to the housing market.
Concerns about travel immediately after Brexit has resulted in a large increase in the number of bookings made for holiday cottages and other holiday accommodation.
On a dreary Sunday in January, Sykes Cottages, a holiday rental company that lists more than 4,000 homes, took 2,519 bookings – that’s 10,000 holidaymakers in total – representing a 36% increase in bookings on the same Sunday year on year.
Latest figures from the Land Registry, which documents actual sold prices, report house prices in Wales rose more than anywhere else in the UK in the year to January 2019 with detached houses rising 5.4% from an average of £231,777 in January 2018 to £244,321 in January 2019. Terraced houses rose 4.6 per cent with semi-detached, flats and maisonettes up 4 per cent.
Carol Peett, Managing Director of West Wales Property Finders, said: “I have worked in property here in Pembrokeshire for more than 15 years and I have never known the market to be this busy. The introduction of the Land Transaction Tax by the Welsh Government last April has hit the top end of the market but properties under £500,000 are flying off the shelf at a rate of knots and prices for these are rising rapidly due to a shortage of stock”.
“What is good”, she says “is that we are seeing a lot of young couples and families moving to the area and starting businesses which will employ local people. This younger generation are all keen on reducing food miles, buying locally and supporting their local communities, so are a real asset to the county”.
“We also have an increasing number of people who have connections to Pembrokeshire, but who are working away, buying coastal properties to not only use as second homes and holiday lets in the short term, but to move to permanently once they retire in a few years’ time”.
“This is ideal as it brings visitors to the county who spend a good deal of money in local shops and with companies providing services for holiday makers, but as the owners will then move there full time, it prevents the problem of coastal villages being deserted out of season”.
The Western Telegraph – Wednesday, 24th April 2019
If you are looking to move to Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire or Ceredigion, or buy a second home or holiday let here, give West Wales Property Finders a call on 01834 862816. Almost 90% of the properties we find for our clients never hit the open market, thus ensuring they get the pick of the crop. We can find your perfect property for you whilst saving you time, stress and often money too. http://www.westwalespropertyfinders.co.uk
