Cornwall’s housing affordability crisis is getting worse
Homes in only six Cornwall towns are affordable for local people to buy or rent, a new study shows. Olivier Vergnault reports on the latest university research
ONLY six Cornish towns are affordable for local people to rent or buy in, a new study on the dire housing crisis in Cornwall has revealed. According to researchers from the University of Exeter’s Institute of Cornish Studies, Social and Economic Research Unit, there are only six socalled ‘affordable’ postcodes – that is areas where there was no gap between the maximum average lending and median annual income.
However, according to the Land Registry records, only 12 properties were sold in these postcodes between mid-2021 and 2022, meaning there is a housing supply crisis in these areas too. The researchers who examined postcode-level data found there are very few postcodes in the Duchy where mortgage or rental prices are within the means of residents earning the average income for the area.
The University of Exeter study showed there were 246 terraced houses sold in the cheapest six postcodes during the same period, but there was an affordability gap in all those areas. In January 2022, the average house price to buy was £302,121, compared to £286,292 for England, and the average cost of private sector renting was £825 a month.
Professor Malcolm Williams, who led the study, said that although the mean price to buy is not far off the average for the rest of the country, Cornwall wages are considerably below the English median and are in the bottom 20% for England and
Wales, thus making the housing crisis much worse.
He said the problem was compounded in Cornwall by second home owners and out-of-county people moving in from areas where these issues are not so pronounced and can therefore pay the asking price on properties in Cornwall, which leads to an increase in prices in certain areas.
He said: “There are many other parts of the United Kingdom where there are very high house prices and there are other areas, where wages are very low. But there are few places where these things exist together. Pos
sibly the greatest crisis facing Cornwall at this present time, is one of housing affordability.”
The study found that Camborne was the cheapest town in Cornwall and had an affordability gap of just under £11,000, meaning it costs that much more than what you can afford to buy in Camborne based on average local wages, when by comparison the mortgage gap for Port Isaac/St Endellion is £441,674.
The only towns where local wages allow you to rent based on the median monthly salary for the area were Redruth, St Austell and Liskeard, but there were only 14 properties available for rent on Rightmove in those towns.
Professor Williams said: “This data shows a dire situation in Cornwall. As of 2018, Cornwall’s population was 565,968, but on June 30, 2022 only 171 properties were advertised for rent across Cornwall. In May 2019 there were 395 homes for rent on the same site. The ‘cheapest’ rents were for rented rooms within shared flats, but the average cost was £889. The three cheapest postcode areas – St Austell, Redruth and Liskeard – provided affordable housing, but there were only 13 properties available.”
The research method used by the academics found the most expensive areas for flats were Wadebridge, with an affordability gap of £331,639, Downderrry with £253,591, Fowey/ Polruan with £242,883, St Ives with £229 878, Mousehole/St Buryan with £220,478 and Falmouth with £219,765.
The least expensive places to buy flats were St Cleer/Pensilva where the affordability gap was +£70,784, the Lizard +£62,872, Clay Country £+60,534, Camborne +£41,284, Liskeard +£40,247, Boscastle/ Lesneweth +£35,784. Only 20 flats were sold in all these areas during May 2021 and June 2022, although it is likely there are few flats among the housing stock in these parts.
The areas with the largest numbers of flats sold were Newquay, which had an affordability gap of £160,891, St Ives/Carbis Bay, with an affordability gap of £193,238, and Falmouth with £219,765.
The most expensive locations to buy a terraced house were Port Isaac/St Endellion, which had an affordability gap of £441,674, St Ives with £360,286, St Mawes/Porthscatho with £341,847 and Fowey/Polruan with £309,638.
The least expensive places to buy a terraced house were Camborne, with an affordability gap of £10,843, Looe/ Pelynt with £35,209, St Austell Bay with £38,758 and Bodmin with £41,063.
Professor Williams added: “Our research shows long term Cornish residents are competing in a property market where prices for renting and buying bear no relation to wages.
“Higher salaries are unlikely to help significantly as there is also an issue with supply and the areas with more housing available can be the most expensive.”