Property Drop Issue 61

2 BUYING ADVICE
Affordable living:
where should first-time
buyers look?
The current news cycle seems to relay the same narrative: less people - in particular ‘Millennials’ -
are getting onto the property ladder as easily as previous generations were able to.
Between 2016 and 2018 alone, housing prices rose by 7%.
The affordability
of housing,
coupled with
increasing rent prices
that stifle the ability
to save for a deposit,
means first-time
buyers are struggling
to find housing within
their budget. Firsttime
buyers appear to
be looking away from
densely populated
areas such as London
with its high cost of living and skyrocketing house pricing. As a result, London has
seen 550,000 more Britons leave the capital in the last ten years than have moved to
the city.
40% of young people claim they are unable to afford a home in their area and so
are faced with few options: live with family, rent, or move away from home. We have
compiled a list of the most affordable housing spots around Monmouthshire, South
Herefordshire and West Gloucestershire that fall below the national average housing
price of £232,710. These are the areas that first-time buyers should be considering
when trying to get onto the property ladder:
Newport: £190,871
Whilst historically
Newport has not been
at the top of the list
for first-time buyers
looking to settle down,
recent regenerations
in the city have
established Newport
as an up-and-comer.
The newly established
Friars Walk complex
boasts an abundance
20 Property Essentials to Sell Your Home
When selling your home, it can be hard to know exactly what people are looking for. Gocompare have revealed
their annual ‘home essentials’ survey, indicating 20 property features that are essential to home buyers in 2019.
Central heating sits at the top of the list this year
with 78% of home buyers considering it to be an
essential property feature. Double glazing (76%)
and secure windows and doors (71%) follow close
behind in second and third place.
This year’s list has also seen the desire for access to
a landline telephone drop out, being replaced by access
to satellite television (36%). Another factor that failed
to make the list are period features. Only 9% of home
buyers considered period features to be essential to their
prospective property.
Biggest Climbers
If anything, the home essentials survey highlights
the growing importance we attribute to technology in
our homes. In the initial publication of the survey back
in 2014, having strong broadband and mobile phone
connections within a home were considered less of
a priority to potential buyers. Today, 58% of people
consider a strong mobile connection within their home
to be essential and 61% consider good broadband
to be essential to their homes. In 2014, good mobile
phone signal was only considered important to 34% of
people and 54% of buyers regarded a good broadband
connection as a home essential.
The list saw other essential features experience an
upsurge. In 2014, a good security system sat at 23%
compared with 31% today. Other essential features that
climbed up are bi-fold doors (2% in 2014 and 12% in
2019), sheds (21% in 2014 and 29% in 2019) and an
open-plan design (9% in 2014 and 15% in 2019). But
the feature that has experienced the largest increase in
demand is the number of home buyers who want a living
room that can accommodate a large, flat-screen TV.
Whilst some features have experienced a rise in the
number of people considering them essential to their
home, some features are experiencing a decline in their
importance. Less buyers are considering whether their
home has a shower than they did in 2014, with only
45% of people believing it to be an essential feature.