The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Money
Same beauty, half the price: Britain’s best property swaps
Ruth Bloomfield uncovers the best-value alternatives to pricey holiday favourites – where you can get far more for your money
The pandemic- fuelled property rush and staycation boom ramped up house prices in holiday favourites around Britain. A beach hut in stylish Wells-next-theSea in Norfolk is currently on sale for £80,000 while in Truro, Cornwall, a plot of less than half an acre of land is listed for £895,000.
The solution for buyers who want a second property, or a main home in a lifestyle- changing location, but can’t pay such high prices is to forget about buying in a hotspot. Search instead for undervalued gems where prices are currently low but are starting to surge.
New research by estate agency Hamptons has pinpointed the best value holiday home locations across the West Country, Norfolk, Wales and North Yorkshire – the places where you can get more house for your money. Here are the locations where you can swap out the overpriced favourite for an up-and-comer.
PEMBROKESHIRE
Tenby’s property market soared during the pandemic. Average prices in this ancient harbour town have shot up by 14pc since 2019, making it Wales’s most expensive coastal location. But its average price, £280,630, masks the real cost of would-be holiday homes in the town as you’ll pay a big premium for sea views.
On the county’s slightly less accessible north coast, Fishguard, set in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, has also recorded two-year price growth of 14pc. But its average prices are more affordable, at £214,470, suggesting that there is still room for growth.
Fishguard is a town of two halves. The old town with its harbour, narrow streets and cute restaurants is pretty and was used as the backdrop for classic films such as Under Milk Wood with Richard Burton and Moby Dick with Gregory Peck. But the main town is more workaday – think streets and streets of bungalows and boxy houses.
Wherever you are based, Fishguard has plenty to offer outdoorsy types. You can watch seals and dolphins from Strumble Head or hang out at Abermawr or Cwm-yr-Eglwys beaches. The local countryside is stunning and ideal for hiking and biking.
Fishguard’s reputation as simply a port (it is Wales’s main ferry terminal for services to Ireland) is what deters buyers, said Carol Peett of buying agency West Wales Property Finders. “Now that there is a bypass the town doesn’t get any of the ferry traffic, but it still hasn’t shaken off that reputation,” she added.
As a result, a three-bedroom character cottage in Fishguard would cost up to £400,000 if it had sea views, Ms Peett estimated. A similar home in Tenby would be more than £800,000.
DEVON AND CORNWALL
The most expensive options in the West Country are the super resorts of Salcombe, with its sailing and sandy beaches, and Padstow, the region’s gastronomic heartland.
Average prices stand at £736,530 in Salcombe, up by 4pc since 2019, and £597,550 in Padstow, 14pc higher over the same period. You would need to budget far more if you wanted a sea view in either.
Buyers who seek more affordable alternatives are turning to Torrington, in north Devon, 10 miles inland from the beach at Westward Ho! Property prices here are among the lowest in the county at an average of £275,270, even though they have shot up by 18pc since 2019.
Great Torrington is a working market town set beside the River Torridge and with some spectacular views of the surrounding countryside. In 2019 researchers from the University of Liverpool named it the healthiest place to live in Britain thanks to its low pollu
tion and good access to health services.
While Torrington is short on chocolate-box properties, its history as an industrial town gives it a good stock of Victorian and Edwardian workers’ cottages. A three- bedroom terrace would cost £ 230,000 to £ 240,000, according to Adrian Hardwick of Webbers estate agents, while fourbedroom detached houses are around £400,000 to £430,000.
“Torrington is seen as industrial, although it has evolved into a good market town,” he said. “Once people move here they tend to stay. It is all about community: we have lots of events and good independent butchers, bakers and grocery shops which draw people in. There is a tremendous sense of belonging.”
What Torrington doesn’t have are chi chi shops or cafes, which Mr Hardwick said might deter buyers seduced by the bright lights of south Devon. “It is still an individual, independent town,” he said.
In Cornwall, the spotlight is starting to shine on St Austell, a former mining town where average prices have jumped by 19pc over the past two years to an average of £254,990.
It is two miles from Duporth Beach with its rock pools and cliff-top walks. Another market town, St Austell was once the heart of Cornwall’s China clay industry. Its legacy remains in the shape of huge conical spoil mounds that dot the horizon and have been nicknamed the Cornish Alps.
St Austell has sometimes been called St Awful as locals complain that the town centre is run down and rife with antisocial behaviour, which police say they are working to tackle. St Austell is also a convenient choice: it has a railway station and the Eden Project is close by, as are the beautiful harbour village of Charlestown and the Roseland Heritage Coast, which means there are plenty of local beaches and beauty spots.
The St Awful label has, of course, kept prices low. Chris Clifford of estate agency Savills said the lack of sailing clubs and fine hotels has meant that high-rolling buyers would simply not consider a St Austell postcode.
Mr Clifford suggested hunting south of the A390, where prices are a little higher – around £400,000 to £600,000 for a three-bedroom house; more if you want a sea view. The views in nearby Duporth and Porthpean are lovely and the town centre feels very far away.
NORTH YORKSHIRE
The most expensive place in which to buy a Yorkshire getaway is the pretty market town of Easingwold, at the foot of the Howardian Hills, where prices have jumped by 28pc since 2019 to £383,390.
But for more value, and a coastal retreat, buyers should look to Filey, where prices have risen by 18pc since 2019 to an average of £196,120.
As well as its relatively low prices, Filey has a glorious five-mile stretch of sand. And, unlike nearby Scarborough, the former fishing village hasn’t yet been scarred by tourism. Laura Campbell, of estate agency Finest Properties, said: “Filey is a bit of a hidden delight – tourists haven’t really found it and it has lots of independent shops and cafés, plus nature all around.”
What you won’t find is fine dining or vegan joints. “It has got some really cute cafes, but what you are going to get is afternoon teas, fish and chips and Sunday roasts,” said Ms Campbell.
Quality property is another plus point for Filey, although, as with all coastal towns, if you want a sea view you’re going to have to pay a big premium. Ms Campbell estimated that a Georgian or Victorian townhouse would cost around £450,000 – but you would need to add around 40pc to see the water.
For smaller properties, a two- bedroom terraced cottage would set you back around £200,000, while a bungalow would be around £400,000.
NORFOLK
The Georgian charms of Holt, and its ideal location for the north Norfolk coast, have driven prices up by 14pc since 2019 to an average £431,170, making it the county’s most expensive option.
Gorleston- on- Sea, around 40 miles south down the coast, is close to the Norfolk Broads and on the outskirts of Great Yarmouth. Here you get an awful lot more for your money. Its average prices stand at £211,570 after a rise of 13pc in the past two years.
Gorleston has a huge sandy beach lined with beach huts. It is very much the traditional seaside resort, complete with an endless promenade, bowling greens and plenty of Victorian and Edwardian houses. The north Norfolk coast has a more upscale reputation than bucket-and- spades Great Yarmouth, said Edward Larke of Larkes estate agents.
Its association with cheap package holidays and amusement arcades has historically tarnished Gorleston’s reputation. “But I think they are starting to realise that it offers an awful lot, and property is half the price,” he said.
During the pandemic, relocators from the Home Counties and London have started to discover Gorleston’s charms, along with some early retirees and a few second home buyers too, he added.