There’s more bang for your buck in Wishaw
Buying a house in Wishaw is cheaper than any other town in North Lanarkshire, a new study has found.
Website Zoopla reveals that the average property price in the town is £84,799, much lower than the North Lanarkshire average of £112,000.
A quick search on the Zoopla website revealed that during the last 12 months properties in Bellshill (£86,796) Shotts (£89,262), Coatbridge (£114,480), Airdrie (£105,950) and Motherwell (£129,297) sold for more than a property in Wishaw.
The average price of a home in North Lanarkshire sold for £109,179 pounds whereas the average property in Wishaw sold for £84,799, nearly £25,000 less than the North Lanarkshire average.
Stephen Evans, of Your Move estate agents in Wishaw, said it’s not all doom and gloom for home owners or first time buyers in Wishaw.
He said:“Generally activity in the property market in Wishaw remains strong, despite the introduction of tax on second homes earlier this year and Brexit, which some suggested may have knocked confidence in the market.
“Instead we are seeing buyers including first timers, investors, those looking to buy a bigger property or even those wanting to downsize, entering the market and looking for either ex-local authority housing, private property or new builds.
“In fact many of the major property developers are now building in this area and, as a result, are contributing significantly to the positive movement in the market.
“The attraction of Wishaw, and this area generally, is that it offers a range of amenities to suit all ages from leisure centres and golf courses to swimming pools and, of course, Strathclyde Park which offers an outdoor boating lake and rowing club as well as many other attractions.
“Added to this we’ve also got some good schools in the area – at both primary and secondary level – which appeal to families and, having been rebuilt in recent years, gives some indication of the regeneration that is taking place locally.”
Although beneficial to first-time buyers, the new stats will be daunting for people in Wishaw hoping to turn a profit selling their home. They comes within days of a report by Resolution Foundation Think Tank which claimed that home ownership in the UK is at its lowest for 30 years.
Marion Fellows, MP for Wishaw and Motherwell, said:“Since I was elected I have had over 100 constituents approach me for assistance with finding social housing. Many people have had to wait for a considerable time before being offered a home.
“When the Right to Buy scheme was introduced in the 80s, there were no other option for people to find affordable homes other than to buy their council homes. This is no longer the case.
“The Scottish Government have gone to great lengths to ensure affordable housing is available to renters and first-time buyers. In the last Parliament, they built 30,000 affordable homes, 20,000 of which are for social rent.”