Our Surveyors recently came across an article stating that the Ribble Valley has the highest house price to income ratio in Lancashire, and one of the highest in England.
This observation has struck a chord and reminded us of a couple of examples of clients who have been forced to look outside of the area in which they grew up in order to afford a home.
The first example is of a client who grew up in Whalley, but when it came to buying a house, had to buy a house in Great Harwood due to Whalley house prices being out of his league. This example was over ten years ago and while house prices have increased across the board over the last decade, the initial higher price point of properties in Whalley has only been exacerbated even more. This means this particular buyer now has even less chance of being able to afford a house in the village where he grew up.
There are signs that the same problem has now spread to Clitheroe. We were recently approached by a client who has lived in Clitheroe for twenty years and is looking to retire. Due to higher property prices in Clitheroe relative to other areas, he is purchasing a terraced house in Hapton as a means of releasing money for his retirement.
Although it is on a lesser scale, these above examples replicate the same problem that residents of the Lake District and parts of Cornwall suffer; where locals cannot afford house prices in the towns where they were raised. Whilst there are arguments for buying a property in an area with higher house prices, there are also reasons to opt for a more affordable location.
Regardless of the location, getting a Chartered Surveyor’s report on the condition and value of a house before you buy provides invaluable insight. For more information on the range of residential reports our Chartered Surveyors and RICS Registered Valuers offer, including Valuation Reports, Level 2 Surveys and Building Survey Reports, please get in touch.
