‘Low-paid priced out of rural areas’

YOUNG and low-paid workers face being priced out of living in rural and coastal areas as former city dwellers find they can work remotely, figures suggest.

The housing affordability squeeze could be contributing to hospitality businesses struggling to fill vacancies, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

In July 2021, house prices were rising at about three times the national annual rate (8.0%) in some rural and coastal areas, such as Conwy in north Wales (25.0%), north Devon (22.5%) and Richmondshire in the Yorkshire Dales (21.4%), ONS figures show.

By contrast, house prices in the City of London borough fell by just over 10% annually in July.

The ONS bulletin stated: “Rising house prices and private rents mean that some workers are at risk of being priced out of living in rural and coastal areas, contributing to skill shortages in the tourism and hospitality industries that their local economies rely on.”

The average UK house price was £256,000 in July 2021, which was £19,000 higher than a year earlier.

While house price changes are partly due to a temporary stamp duty holiday, they also reflect a shift in consumer preferences with growth being driven by rural and coastal areas, the ONS said.

It added: “There is some evidence of people house-hunting in rural areas, rather than in cities, because of now being able to work remotely.”

Prospective home-buyers are seeking more space, with prices for detached houses (9.0% annual growth in July) consistently rising faster than those for terraced houses (7.7%) or flats (6.1%).