Safe bet on Newmarket
The price gap between East Anglia and the South- East makes it an ideal place to invest, reports Nigel Lewis
WHEN you are about to pour your savings into bricks and mortar, you can find there’s a bewildering range of choices and locations to consider. The gurus point to Wales, Yorkshire and Northern Ireland as the boom markets and, further afield, Turkey, Bulgaria and Florida are expected to grow rapidly in the coming years.
But one region of Britain that most investors unwisely bypass is East Anglia, which continues to enjoy strong growth when compared to the betterknown South Coast,which has lost its shine.
Government plans to build nearly half a million homes in the region during the next 16 years, and improvements to the road and rail network are bringing East Anglia out of the shadows.
regional counterparts, and East
Historically, the region suffered
Anglia is one of these. from its relative geographical
‘ The difference between house isolation. A recent report by
prices in East Anglia and the estate agent Knight Frank
South East is significant,’ says described it as ‘ less fashionable’
Liam Bailey, head of research at than areas to the south and west
Knight Frank. of London, despite being within a
‘ Despite East Anglia’s good similar commuting distance.
commuter links, average house
All savvy investors look for
prices in the region stand at undervalued areas that are about
£175,000, 26 per cent lower than to catch up with their pricier
those in the South East and just more than 4 per cent lower than the national average.’
He says Lincolnshire is the most promising of all the counties within the region, with an average house price of just £136,750.
So where to buy? The most popular zone is the border between Essex and Suffolk, which is less than an hour and a half from London, but might as well be a different planet if you measure pleasure in terms of pace of life and rural feel.
The epicentre of this feelgood factor is Sudbury in the heart of the Stour Valley and the setting for the Lovejoy TV series.
During the past year, its house prices have jumped by 10 per cent, from £ 176,900 to just under £195,000.
But the undisputed king of East Anglia is Newmarket, where prices have jumped by 24 per cent in the past 12 months, followed by Stowmarket in Suffolk, where they’re up by 16 per cent.
Similar to Lincoln, Newmarket’s distance from London has delayed its boom, so while towns in Essex and Cambridge are stagnating and even dropping back in price, it is enjoying its day at the top of the rankings.
‘ The town is a little unusual compared to others in the region,’ says Louis de Soissons of estate agent Savills.
PEOPLE who live there are either stable workers, such as grooms or trainers, who keep the horse business — Newmarket is the major horse racing centre in the country — going and are relatively poory paid, or they are extremely rich.
‘ So it needs only a shortage of expensive homes on the market, which is what seems to have happened, and the average house price is pushed up.’
This is also fuelling a miniboom in the countryside around Newmarket.
Developer DGM Properties is building houses in Dereham and Shipdham and has been flooded with inquiries.
‘ Prices in these more rural villages are competitive compared to Newmarket, where values have risen dramatically over the past year,’ says company chairman Russ Delahoy.