House prices in Bath have always been higher than the UK average place owing to its high status as a tourist hotspot and all of its historical beauty. If you are looking to move to Bath or purchase property in the area for some other reason, you have to get to know the housing market before you make a purchase decision. There will always be house price appreciation in areas like this over the long run because these areas have always historically thrived. Read on for six things you need to know about the housing market in Bath.
Prices Reached an All-Time High In 2022
The first thing to know is that over the course of the last year (2022) house prices reached an all-time high. That means they were at peak pricing compared to any other year. There was a 0.8% increase in the last five months of the year, which was higher than average in the South West. So, what was the average price for a house in Bath?
- The average property price for a house in Bath in 2022 exceeded £400,000.
This figure might make you stop and think, understandably so! These are sales figures that saw a rise of over £50,000 which just goes to show how lucrative and popular housing in Bath is precise.
Things Seem To Be Slowing Down Slightly
It is hard to escape the fact that there has been economical turmoil in the last year, which has led to depreciation and utter chaos for the housing market. First-time buyers, renters, landlords, and second homeowners; they’ve all been affected by A-B-C. Breaking into the housing market seems like an impossibility and selling your property feels like a completely wrong move given the current circumstances. The recession was looming, though the economy seems to be slowly clawing back a little bit of stability. If not anywhere near the levels of comfort, it is enough to give some hope that the housing market might just level out in the next years to come.
Thankfully, Bath has a good number of properties that might have fallen in value over the last year, but have not dropped too much. There are, of course, local estate agents that look after property sales, such as Zest estate agents in Bath, and these are always great options to explore to make life easier in this context. Working with a good local estate agent is the best way to find the right property, especially when desirable properties are selling fast. You can give them your details and wait for a phone call.
There Is a Noticeable Deficit In The Rental Sector
Aside from selling and buying, there is also the rental market to think about. Given that there are currently under 200 properties to rent, it doesn’t have the most optimal prospects as things stand. The average rental price is comfortably over £2,000 a month, and there is a definite dominating presence of students infiltrating viable properties. For students, the average rental price for a singular room tends to be around the £700 mark, which again is quite high for student living or rental in general. But that is the way things go in the South part of the country, where rent prices are typically higher than properties in the Northern regions.
Second Home Ownership Is Not Encouraged Any Longer
You will also find that because of a high demand vs high prices, second home ownership is no longer encouraged at all. Residents and the local government are increasing the pressure on second homeowners to sell up or not buy at all in the area because there is such a low availability for actual residents.
There Is a High Number of Top Priced Properties
With the highest price bracket being over £4 million, Bath is quite a luxury property focussed market. It is hard to escape the high prices, as mentioned above the average house price is currently around 400K. However, there is a contingency of lower priced properties, but you won’t find anything under £150,000 (one-bedroom flat in a non-affluent suburb). What this means is that to move here, you need to have money and income to support the high cost of living.
The housing market in Bath has always been expensive and high-tier-centric. There is a definite trajectory for appreciation, despite the recent dip in economic standards in relation to both the wider socio-economic climate and the housing market specifically.
