Press Release Summary: Amid talk of downturns in the property market across Britain recent attention has focused on specific locations where any slowdown nationally will not be replicated. Publishing its figures for house price inflation by region last week
Press Release Body: Amid talk of downturns in the property market across Britain recent attention has focused on specific locations where any slowdown nationally will not be replicated. Publishing its figures for house price inflation by region last week, Halifax predicted there would be flat growth in 2008 overall, but with significant regional variations.
In a fast-growing market, such as the UK has had the last few years, such variations have been apparent, with London, Scotland and Northern Ireland all outstripping the rest of the UK for house price growth. But in a cooling market, the locations where local circumstances or a general defiance of national trends make a difference may get extra attention as the number of locations where price increases are taking place dwindles.
For this reason, while parts of the north and midlands are tipped to be flat or negative in 2008, investors may be enticed to areas which may not have been on the radar. While London with its Olympic preparations and Liverpool with its European City of Culture status might enjoy the benefit of local circumstances, with all the investment and profile that comes with it, Wales and Scotland are areas where the normal cyclical conditions do not apply.
In the case of Scotland, it has often been said that the country does not go through steep cycles to the same extent as the rest of Britain. In the case of Wales, the prospects for 2008 are good because it is running behind the English market, according to estate agency RE/MAX. Owner Mark Jones said: \"There is no downturn in property prices here as yet. We generally find ourselves about five years behind the London and England scene\".
This being the case, he added, there were plenty of good investment opportunities to be had for buy-to-let, especially in the south. Mr Jones identified Neath, Swansea and Cardiff as the best places to look, although he suggested the capital had now become \"a bit overpriced\".
A key issue, he suggested, was for investors to look around for the best properties, in which case there were undoubtedly healthy returns to be enjoyed from Welsh investment: \"You can get good yields on property in Wales, but you have to be picky and choosy and know what you are looking for\".
Mark Jones is not alone in tipping south Wales locations to shine this year. Last week the Independent forecast that Wales would be one of the property hotspots of 2008, partly through offering cheaper second homes in locations such as Monmouthshire than the Cotswolds across the border, but also because of some good opportunities for commuters in towns within easy reach of Cardiff. In the latter case Halifax chief economist Martin Ellis said Neath and Pontypool could offer the best opportunities.
Affordability is certainly one advantage of Wales, Mr Jones noted, stating that: \"First-time buyers can still get a three-bedroom terraced house for under £100,000.\" With Halifax forecasting prices to rise by 0.6 per cent in Wales this year against the overall flat picture across the UK, this affordability should not be dented while at the same time the market west of Offa\'s Dyke performs better than that east of it. With particular hotspots showing up in southern towns, 2008 could be the year that the Welsh property dragon roars.
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