Extra £90,000 needed to live in a National Park

Househunters looking to buy in the beauty spots of the National Parks in England and Wales have to come up with nearly £90,000 more for the pleasure of doing so.

New research from Lloyds TSB indicates that house prices in the National Parks are on average £87,968 higher than the average for their county, £31,342 higher than in 2002  when it was £56,626.

Five of the 12 National Parks tracked by the authors of the report attracted a house price premium of more than £100,000 with homes in the Peak District at the top of the list commanding a premium relative to the average for the surrounding area of 107% or £162,650. This was followed by the New Forest (94%) and the Lake District (70%). Homes in Snowdonia were at the bottom of the list, with property prices only 6% above the county average.

The average house price  in National Parks across England and Wales has risen by £170,335 over the past decade, from £194,924 in 2002 to £365,259 today. Snowdonia recorded the biggest increase with a 111% house price rise, followed by the North York Moors (109%) and the Pembrokeshire Coast (106%). The Broads recorded the smallest rise, around 19%.

In terms of home affordability, the average National Parks house price of £365,259 in 2012 is, on average, 10.8 times higher than average gross annual earnings, up from 7.7 in 2002. The New Forest is the least affordable National Park with an average house price (£474,883) 13.3 times local gross average annual earnings. The South Downs is the second least affordable National Park, followed by Dartmoor.  Snowdonia is the most affordable, with an average house price of £167,773 or 6.5 times local average annual earnings.

“The quality of life benefits associated with living in the some of the country’s most scenic destinations resonate strongly among many homebuyers, ” said Suren Thiru, housing economist at Lloyds TSB. “Such destinations are also popular with those looking for a second property. As a result, properties in National Parks typically trade at a significant premium to homes in neighbouring areas. The downside of high property prices is that homes are often difficult to afford for those living and working in such locations; a situation that has got worse over the past decade as prices have risen sharply.”

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• http://twitter.com/CSFcomms Separated Families

  National park ‘natives’ often complain about their children not being able to afford to live in the area and there has been numerous attempts to deal with the issue by the various park authorities. It always struck me as a bit of a non complaint. Most of the social housing in the national parks was bought up and sold by the ‘natives’. And, if locals don’t want the house prices to be so high, they could simply sell them for less.

• ExasperatedMe

  A Separated Families. What a silly thing to say. The locals can’t afford to build even if they get planning never mind buy a home!! Such bigoted remarks are something the residents expect from the tourists.