Swansea’s house price rise ‘due to investment’
THE price of houses in Swansea have risen well above the national average, according to new research.
Property experts say that the increase of 7.7%, well above the national average growth of 2.7%, is down to proposed projects in the city including the 3,500-seater arena at what is currently the LC car park, the remodelling of the Kingsway, Orchard Street and Castle Square, and current redevelopments at Parc Tawe.
Douglas Haig, vice-chairman and director for Wales at the Residential Landlords Association, put the increase down to the expansion of the Liberty Stadium, plans to turn Hafod Morfa Copperworks into a tourist attraction, the official opening of the SA1 Swansea Waterfront Campus and the proposed Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon.
“House price changes should be considered in the context of the low volumes of properties that are currently coming to the market, as with small numbers it’s easier for anomalies to affect the data,” he said.
“However, it has been a busy year for Swansea in terms of its profile.
“While electrification doesn’t look like it will happen for now, and the barrage is still uncertain, there have been a number of projects proposed in the city centre which have garnered interest in further investment into the city and, ultimately, will be good for Swansea. The university is also continuing its valuable investment, which is allowing the expansion of the hospital and investment in that area.”
It comes after several properties in Swansea were found to be on the market for millions of pounds, with the most expensive property on the market in Southgate, near Oxwich Bay, up for a cool £2,650,000 and the least most expensive up for £750,000 in Maritime Quarter.
Bridgend fared worse in the research undertaken by Halifax, with the town experiencing the largest fall in Wales. It saw a 0.7% decrease in house prices this year.
Mr Haig says this is down to the fact that Bridgend does not have the same level of investment as Swansea.
“Bridgend doesn’t have this investment level and is also likely to have been impacted more by the uncertainties around what has been going on in Port Talbot and the steelworks than Swansea will have,” he said.
“You also have to look at simple supply and demand. There were only 147 new properties completed between January and September for Swansea compared to 230 in the Bridgend area, which – considering that Bridgend has just over half the number of properties that Swansea has – is a much bigger increase in supply of housing. This will also have an impact on the overall property price.”
Fifteen of the top 20 house price performers over the past year are in London and southern England, Halifax said. Huddersfield (9.3%), Nottingham (8.9%) and Lincoln (8.4%), along with Stockport (8.2%) and Swansea (7.7%), were the top performers outside London and the South.