Telegraph advises readers to ‘invest in staycation boom’ with holiday home in Wales
The Telegraph newspaper has advised its readers to “invest in the staycation boom” by buying a holiday home in Wales.
The article, part of a series, details the best places in the UK to buy a holiday home, with the final article recommending areas for those with a “bigger budget” of £450,000.
In its article, the Telegraph said that due to the pandemic “Britons have championed the staycation and demand for self-catered holiday homes in the UK has skyrocketed”.
“Using data from estate agency Savills, we have found the most popular locations for holiday homes this year where investors could tap into the market with up to £450,000.”
The article comes after hundreds of people met at the Tryweryn dam in Gwynedd over the weekend to protest against the housing situation and call for the Welsh Government to act.
Yesterday, the Welsh Government said it was committed to tackling the “adverse impact that disproportionate numbers of second homes can have on communities”.
“We will work unstintingly to stabilise the number of second homes and, through the actions we and our partners take, to reduce them over time in areas where there are concerns,” Climate Change and WWelsh Language minister Julie James and Jeremy Miles said.
‘Surge’
The Telegraph article recommends Monmouthshire as the best place to buy a holiday home in Wales with a budget of £450,000.
“Sandwiched between Brecon Beacons National Park and the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Welsh district of Monmouthshire is not short of stunning views,” it says.
“It has enjoyed a surge in popularity with holidaymakers this year and bookings for the summer are up 46pc.”
The article adds that “the villages of Symonds Yat and Penallt have proven particularly popular for holiday homes”.
It quotes an estate agent of Roscoe Rogers and Knight who advises a holiday home in the country.
“You can get quite a bit of land for your money in the area, much more than Devon or the south coast, and that is attractive to buyers. But a lack of supply versus greatly increased demand has pushed prices upwards over the past year,” he says.
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English settler imperialism.
Savills estate agents mentioned, again. Never heard of them until yesterday when one of their managers was outed on Twitter for racist abuse of the England players who’d missed their penalties in the shootout. Perhaps Savills is a bit of an ‘old school’ organisation!
[pedantry]Illustrated by picture from literally the wrong end of the Wye Valley.[/pedantry]
Meibion Glyndwr, where are you?
https://youtu.be/4O79Glps-DY
It’s actually very revealing because it reflects a deeply-embedded mindset of the UK as one country, not four — buying a holiday home in Cymru is shown as no different from buying one in the Norfolk Broads. It’s not even intended as colonialist propaganda, because for the Telegraph the border doesn’t exist, or else shouldn’t be there.
Whilst I fully acknowledge that the UK is four countries, the demand for second homes is also damaging for regions and counties in England – think of the effect of second home ownership on locals living in the Lake District for example. Of course in Wales there is the extra issue of the effect on the viability of the Welsh language.
Agreed. The fops and folderols are causing chaos in housing markets everywhere. But we are concerned with Cymru. Totally on board to provide a United front with the people of Kernow, Cambria etc in opposing the “foppification” of our housing, but they must step up first and shout about the creeping menace of second homes like we have. Then we can all unite.
Yes that is for those areas to sort out too, it does not mean in Wales we should do nothing about it.
Agreed. And some of the second homes in my village belong to Welsh people. That doesn’t make the place any less dead or the community any more viable when they leave for their first homes
It’s obvious excessive buying of second homes is detrimental to Cymru and has to stop. The only way to do that is by taxing them higher before and after purchase or making it a requirement the purchaser should be local or have lived in the area for a number of years already. Local people are being priced out of the housing market, the Welsh language and culture is under threat and urban areas have numerous empty buildings for much of the year.The UK government will stand back and watch, even perhaps stoking the fire so squash the Welsh independence movement… Read more »
It’s useful to illustrate the problem with some numbers.
Assume the median weekly wage in Wales is £537.80 before tax (Welsh government estimate from April 2020). Then, the Telegraph’s suggested price for a second home is 16 years worth of pre-tax pay on the median wage.
At this stage these revolting English Exceptionalism to55pots are just trolling us. They are a pathetic bunch trying to whip up some free publicity from provoking our nation’s legendary chippiness
Do they sell many copies of this rag in Wales?
True story. Our local shop at the end of the day gives all the unsold Torygraphs to people with guinea pigs. Because there’s a lot of them.
No sign yet of the guinea pigs becoming bigots though
The moneyed settlers can’t be taxed out of their greed…. They laugh at council tax hikes. There are only two ways to stop this takeover, legislate for a residency requirement even if we need independence to do that….. I’d be arrested if I specified the second way.
The Welsh Government should legislate for the local authority to have first refusal on all properties coming on to the market and for these to be bought in to become social housing. In some cases the local authority could be empowered to provide holiday lets so that managed tourism could result with profits retained in the housing fund.
Very good point Robin.
Da iawn am feddwl tu allan y bocs.
Plus — and it shouldn’t need repeating by now — a cap on the number or percentage of holiday homes in any one town or village.
Must push for that. Great idea!
Anybody remember the old old joke from the 1970s based on an advert for solid fuel central heating?
“Come home to a real fire, buy a cottage in Wales”
https://youtu.be/4O79Glps-DY
UK police are now an army, with an air force. Please note.