Are Welsh Homeowners Losing Out In Property Price Divide?

[The Masked Tulip]

Have I read this wrong - is this article moaning that Welsh house prices are not keeping up with London house prices and whinging about why a house in London costs more than one in Cardiff?

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2010/06/02/are-welsh-homeowners-losing-out-in-the-uk-s-big-property-price-divide-91466-26568219/

WALES is at risk of falling behind affluent parts of London and the south-east of England because of a growing divide in the UK’s two-tier property market, Government figures suggest.

While information produced by the Land Registry shows a steady rate of growth in the recovering property market in all parts of the country, Wales is falling further behind parts of England in its speed of growth.

Prices over the past year in London increased more than three times faster than in Wales, while the average price of a house in the UK’s capital is now more than £200,000 more than it is here.

The modest growth in Wales over the past year – 4.7% – is echoed in poorer parts of northern England, but dwarfed by that experienced in a rich swathe covering the south of the country.

Economist Patrick Minford said Wales could never hope to keep pace with the rate of growth in London – bad news for the nation’s economy at a time when prices are projected to continue their steady ascent.

The Cardiff University professor said: “The recovery has been biased towards the South because that is the most dynamic part of the economy.

“What generally happens is that the rest of the country catches up with London and the South-East over a period of years.

“But it doesn’t catch up the whole way because in London and the South-East house prices have tended to grow a little bit faster.”

Prices have risen by 14.8% in London over the last year, compared with 4.7% in Wales.

However, despite the modest overall growth in Wales – there are hotspots here outperforming the rest of the country.

Leading the way is Wrexham where prices have risen by 12.1%, followed by Ceredigion on 11.6% and Cardiff on 10.2%.

Areas such as Powys on 8.1% and Swansea and Conwy, both on 7.7%, have also performed strongly.

Nigel Jones, a director of South- West Wales estate agents John Francis, said: “Our highs are possibly not as high and our lows are possibly not as low as London’s.

“I don’t think we were hit by the downturn as much as the South-East, but when the market does pick up it’s usually in the South-East first and then you get the ripple effect as it moves away from there.”

Mr Jones described the Welsh market as “quite busy” after Home Information Packs (Hips) were cancelled last month.

Elsewhere in Wales, the market continues to suffer from the kind of dropping values seen during the depths of the recession.

Merthyr Tydfil (-1.6%), Torfaen (-2.6%), Neath (-.5%) and Anglesey (-1.6%) have all seen property price falls.

While prices in Wales have risen on an annual basis, the figure for April is down 1.6% compared with March.

[righttoleech]

Spot on TMT......The VIs want rampant HPI EVERYWHERE........and they would put their children into bonded labour if that would help them achieve 'their dream'.

[fluffy666]

I, for one, am shocked and outraged that houses in the less salubrious areas of Merthyr Tydfil cost less than in the posher areas of Kensington. We need to subsidize magnolia paint, and we need to do it now. If that doesn't work, then what will?

[Guest DissipatedYouthIsValuable]

Once the Barry Island International Financial Centre starts trading................

[pl1]

No you read this right. People still think rising house prices are a sign of recovery (it's no recovery for me). To me it's a sign of low interest rates and delayed defaults, courtesy of me. No shock to discover that the source of the quotes are from Estate Agents.

This is blood boilingly annoying.

[the flying pig]

pure mindless filth.

[Timak]

Unfortunately the stupidity has been forced in by year upon year of brainwashing.

I was channel hopping a few weeks ago and caught an old episode of "A Place in the Sun". In it some couple were looking in Spain for an investment property, they were looking around the costas and upon being told that the prices had doubled in the past 2 years they seemed delighted. The thought that it was probably a speculative bubble never even occured to them they just piled in putting down their money for a new build on a golf course. No doubt the property is now unshiftable.

[Dr Renter]

Erm, that's because Cardiff is a sh1thole.

[TheEmperorHasNoClothes]

Well I am annoyed because petrol at my local gas-station is cheaper than that being sold in Paddington .... I demand something be done about this!!!! :angry:

And why are the banana's so cheap at my local Tesco's, what kinda town am I living in.

Even the local cinema only charged me £6 to get in. Shame on them!!!

[Laura]

2020

Ferndale & Mountain Ash became ghost towns in winter.

All those second home owners are to blame, turning prime Welsh property into summer playgrounds for the rich

I was there!

[Caius]

Too much public money flowing into London.

[fluffy666]

No you read this right. People still think rising house prices are a sign of recovery (it's no recovery for me). To me it's a sign of low interest rates and delayed defaults, courtesy of me. No shock to discover that the source of the quotes are from Estate Agents.

This is blood boilingly annoying.

The thing is, Estate agents depend far more on volume than higher prices; they have no real interest in sustained high prices. Homeowners in general only really care that house prices don't fall to the extent that they are in negative equity (unless they are stupid, of course). The only ones who really want high and increasing house prices are the banks and money men, so they can maximise their assets (loans) whilst minimising their risks. After all, if house prices rise 10% a year and interest rates are 5% a year, mortgage lending becomes a totally risk-free activity - indeed, no one would ever need to even pay their mortgage, just refinance every couple of years and roll up the unpaid interest, and take the rest of the equity out at the same time..

[The Masked Tulip]

Just came back from looking in 4 EAs - there does appear to be a glut of properties coming on the market.

The downside is that asking prices have gone mental - houses that were asking 250K circa last Christmas are now wanting about 350K. Worse, areas that were in the 200K mark are now moving up to 300K asking prices. Absolutely nuts!

It seems that a giant price spiral/ramp is going on in Swansea West - perhaps it is indicative of the last stages of the bubble.

If it does not collapse I am being priced out of the market completely. 69% of jobs in Swansea are public sector ones but looking at the asking prices and you would think that we had a Google and a Microsoft employing thousands in the city.

A tame EA did show me a print-out of recent activity on an excel spreadsheet - a sizeable number of SOLD propeties, another sizeable number of OFFER ACCEPTED but the majority of records in the table were labelled as OFFER REJECTED.

[fluffy666]

Just came back from looking in 4 EAs - there does appear to be a glut of properties coming on the market.

The downside is that asking prices have gone mental - houses that were asking 250K circa last Christmas are now wanting about 350K. Worse, areas that were in the 200K mark are now moving up to 300K asking prices. Absolutely nuts!

It seems that a giant price spiral/ramp is going on in Swansea West - perhaps it is indicative of the last stages of the bubble.

If it does not collapse I am being priced out of the market completely. 69% of jobs in Swansea are public sector ones but looking at the asking prices and you would think that we had a Google and a Microsoft employing thousands in the city.

A tame EA did show me a print-out of recent activity on an excel spreadsheet - a sizeable number of SOLD propeties, another sizeable number of OFFER ACCEPTED but the majority of records in the table were labelled as OFFER REJECTED.

Something has happened in the mortgage market recently; the best 5 year fixes have suddenly gone from ~5% to ~4%. 2- year fixes are going under 3%, which is a bit mental.

http://www.moneysupermarket.com/mortgages/

[juvenal]

Unfortunately the stupidity has been forced in by year upon year of brainwashing.

I was channel hopping a few weeks ago and caught an old episode of "A Place in the Sun". In it some couple were looking in Spain for an investment property, they were looking around the costas and upon being told that the prices had doubled in the past 2 years they seemed delighted. The thought that it was probably a speculative bubble never even occured to them they just piled in putting down their money for a new build on a golf course. No doubt the property is now unshiftable.

Seen in an EA's down Malaga way last week, in one of the more sought-after small towns. God knows what bargains there are in the hard-to-shift places. There's thousands of empty apartments as you drive along the coast.

Edited June 2, 2010 by juvenal

[The Masked Tulip]

We all should go and buy out there.

[lulu]

Have I read this wrong - is this article moaning that Welsh house prices are not keeping up with London house prices and whinging about why a house in London costs more than one in Cardiff?

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2010/06/02/are-welsh-homeowners-losing-out-in-the-uk-s-big-property-price-divide-91466-26568219/

What a stupid article.

Please, at some point can the penny drop and everyone wake up to the fact that continually rising prices are actually a bad thing for the majority and it is only ignorence and greed that is dictating otherwise.