Concern as Wales’ 2020 house price growth highest in UK as buyers seek outdoor space

The growth in house prices was higher in Wales than any other part of the UK during 2020, according to real estate company Zoopla.

The company said that a search for space has been a key feature of the housing market as buyers looked for houses with outdoor space.

As a result house prices in Wales had ballooned over 5%, compared with 4.3% on average across the UK.

“Demand for family housing with gardens, parking and extra space to work from home has continued to rise,” their UK House Price Index said.

The company also said that they expect the trend to continue in 2021.

“The ‘once in a lifetime reassessment of housing’ kick-started by the pandemic has further to run in our
view,” they said.

“As households look to the future, and with no immediate end in sight to restrictions, a proportion will continue to re-assess their housing priorities.”

The growth in price for flats was lower in Wales, coming in at third place with a growth of 2.5%. As a result, overall Wales was in second place for property price rises at 4.9%, 0.1% behind the North-West of England.

Motion

The rise in property princes comes as campaign groups have called for the Welsh Government to intervene and allow local authorities to be given the power to control the housing market in rural areas.

Osian Jones, the spokesperson for Cymdeithas yr Iaith’s ‘Wales is not for sale’ campaign, said that 5,380 people had signed a petition calling for the change.

The campaign group are planning a ‘Wales is not for sale’ rally in May along the Tryweryn dam near Bala where Capel Celyn’s Welsh rural community was drowned 55 years ago.

According to a Gwynedd Council report, 0% of locals are priced out buy the housing market – with 6,849 or 10.77% of the country’s entire housing stock now being designated as second homes.

They have called on the Welsh Government for the power to be able to set limits on the number of second homes in an area.

Nefyn Councillor Gruff Williams submitted a motion calling for the Planning Act to be amended to allow for the change in October. His motion was passed without objection.