South West boom a ‘mixed blessing’

Published 07th Mar 2008

Investors are flocking en masse to the South West, but this could have negative side effects...

The South West was the most popular place to look for property in February, according to the latest data from property website propertyfinder.com.

In order, Cornwall, Dorset, Devon and Somerset topped the national chart of favourites. Surrey brought up the rear at number 5. No counties north of Lincolnshire made it into the top 10.

In relative terms, Cornwall was twice as popular as Surrey, but all the south western counties were far ahead of their rivals in the south east.

Pushing property prices up
Nicholas Leeming, director of propertyfinder.com said: “Everyone knows how beautiful the south west is. Its popularity in the property search stakes is a bit of a mixed blessing though. Many of those searching the region for property are outsiders looking for second homes.
“That can push the price of property beyond the means of locals who have relatively lower incomes. It’s no surprise that younger people tend to move away looking for better paid work.”

As far as individual towns are concerned, Exeter was the fifth most popular town in the country among house-hunters, but Bristol, Bournemouth and Plymouth also made it into the top 20.

Lincoln, Oxford and Southampton were the top towns in February.

Source: ' Move Channel Ltd '

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