Welsh house prices fall at fastest ever rate

Apr 16 2008 by Sarah Miloudi, Western Mail

Reasons to be cheerful, says estate agent

Despite the gloomy housing market forecasts, one estate agency was yesterday claiming property prices in parts of Wales would outstrip the rest of the UK over the next few years.

Global property consultants Knight Frank said there were plenty of reasons to be cheerful after an in-depth study of the housing markets in South Wales and England’s West Country would grow by 3% this year.

The company, which has 165 offices in 36 countries, believes places like Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Bristol and Plymouth will outperform the rest of the country.

Among the reasons for this forecast put forward by Knight Frank are:

Thousands of retirees from places in the Midlands, London and the South East are looking to “downsize” in South Wales and the West Country, boosting local property markets;

The rise of broadband and flexible working plus increasing commuting costs is prompting young families to re-evaluate their lives and head away from the “rat race” in London and the south east of England to Devon, Cornwall, Gower, Pembrokeshire, the Vale of Glamorgan and Cardiff;

Wales has seen the biggest UK growth in second-home ownership over the past few years with 21% of Welsh second homes based in Pembrokeshire or Gower;

The private rental sector is growing strongly in Wales and England’s West Country driven by “excellent” universities in places like Cardiff, Swansea, Plymouth and Exeter;

Top quality developments such as SA1 in Swansea, Cardiff Bay and Friar’s Walk in Newport are generating interest from the rest of the UK; and

Job growth as public sector jobs are taken away from the south east of England, such as the Office for National Statistics in Newport plus private initiatives such as Amazon near Swansea (1,200 jobs) are stimulating housing demand.

The optimistic details are contained in a report released yesterday by Knight Frank, A Different Region: Western residential development review 2008. It says the region, which includes South Wales, Avon, Devon, Somerset and Cornwall, is well placed to withstand current economic uncertainties.

The report also names Swansea’s SA1 development, the Cardiff Bay project and Newport’s old dock area redevelopment as key to the area’s property market performance.