Latest news with #Elvins
Wales Online
13-05-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
A patch of sand on a Welsh beach is on sale for £100,000
A patch of sand on a Welsh beach is on sale for £100,000 You could buy a home in some parts of Wales or this small area of sand squeezed between beach huts A patch of sand between beach huts is on sale for £100,000 (Image: Rightmove ) It is just over three metres wide and over seven metres deep. The sand is a little dry for a sandcastle but children could happily bury their parents from their necks to their feet. You might even enjoy a game of bat and ball. Yet this patch of sand on the Porth Mawr beach at Abersoch on the Llyn Peninsula is destined for different uses to most patches of sand on Welsh beaches. Squeezed in a gap between rows of beach huts, it is on sale with planning permission for a new hut. The wooden shack that previously occupied the site was damaged in storms and was pulled down by its owner. And the site is now on sale with offers invited for over £100,000, the price of a flat or even a small house in parts of North Wales. It is advertised on Rightmove as being: "An exciting opportunity to acquire a beach hut plot on Abersoch main beach with planning permission to build a new hut. Patch of sand with planning for beach hut for sale in Abersoch (Image: Elvins ) "Benefit from owning your own part of Abersoch beach with the convenience of storage and shelter at the waters edge. Beautiful panoramic views across the bay towards St Tudwals Islands and Machroes Beach." Article continues below The piece of beach with planning is on the market with estate agent Elvins. Beach huts on this stretch have previously gone on the market for more than £200,000. Patch of sand with planning for beach hut for sale in Abersoch (Image: Elvins ) In the planning application, applicant Jonathan Edwards said: "The site is on the coast line of Porth Mawr Beach, Abersoch in a line of similar beach huts running north from the beach access toward the Sailing Club. "The building will only be used as a Beach Hut and no heating will be provided and also no requirement for foul waste will be required. "The rainwater from the roof will discharge directly into the sand which is what occurs presently with the existing beach hut and every beach hut adjacent. Planned beach hut at Abersoch Article continues below "The replacement beach hut is to be constructed from timber which is a sustainable material. It is not considered that the use will have a significant or detrimental impact on the established biodiversity and local environment." Llanengan Community Council voiced an objection "due to overdevelopment" but Cyngor Gwynedd approved the application.
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Botched second homes crackdown wipes £30k off house prices
House prices in a Welsh county have fallen by more than £30,000 after a council crackdown on second homes backfired, new figures show. Homeowners in Gwynedd, north west Wales, must obtain planning permission to turn residential properties into second homes or holiday lets under sweeping reforms brought in by the local authority in September. It is also one of several Welsh councils to charge a 150pc council tax premium on properties. However, the Principality's House Price Index for Wales has found that the average property value in Gwynedd is £221,330, down from £252,744 in December 2023 – a drop of 12pc. Prices also fell by 2.8pc in the three months to December last year. By comparison, the average house price across the country dropped by 1pc. In September, the local council introduced Article 4, which requires owners to seek planning permission to turn a home into a holiday let or second home. It was the first council in Wales to make use of the regulation, and Eryri National Park Authority has said it would do the same. This new restriction follows the increase in the second home premium from 100pc to 150pc in April 2023. The tax was initially put in place in 2018 at 50pc, but has subsequently been raised twice. The council has also placed a 100pc council tax on properties that are vacant for six months In a council meeting in November, increasing premiums on empty properties was discussed, but it was decided more consultation was needed before taking any further measures. Local authorities in Wales have the right to increase council tax on second homes by up to 300pc. Rhys Elvins, of Elvins estate agents, said: 'Gwynedd as a whole introduced the Article 4 proposal in September so hit the market, as well as national issues of mortgage rates and the cost of living. 'The council tax has always been around or been around for a while and it does put buyers off. There has been a slow decline in house prices in that area. The peak of the market was the end of 2022 but since then and through 2023 and into 2024 the market has been dropping.' Mr Elvins added that the area had seen a bigger drop-off because of the tax and the increase in stamp duty on second homes that he said has gone 'too far'. In December, Mark Drakeford, Welsh cabinet secretary for finance, introduced a 1-percentage-point rise in land transaction tax on additional properties. The increase costs landlords more than an extra £2,000 on the average house, and comes amid an increasingly tough environment for second home owners in Wales. Last year, the Welsh government announced plans that would force them to register their properties and apply for licences to carry on letting them during another crackdown. Iain Mansfield, chief financial officer at Principality Building Society, said: 'In 2019, Welsh government's own research suggested Wales needs between 6,700 to almost 10,000 new homes of all types on average, annually, to meet housing need. 'Despite the Welsh government's longstanding target to build 20,000 new homes by 2026 to ease housing constraints, current levels of supply are falling short of this requirement.' Gwynedd Council was approached for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
18-02-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Botched second homes crackdown wipes £30k off house prices
House prices in a Welsh county have fallen by more than £30,000 after a council crackdown on second homes backfired, new figures show. Homeowners in Gwynedd, north west Wales, must obtain planning permission to turn residential properties into second homes or holiday lets under sweeping reforms brought in by the local authority in September. It is also one of several Welsh councils to charge a 150pc council tax premium on properties. However, the Principality's House Price Index for Wales has found that the average property value in Gwynedd is £221,330, down from £252,744 in December 2023 – a drop of 12pc. Prices also fell by 2.8pc in the three months to December last year. By comparison, the average house price across the country dropped by 1pc. In September, the local council introduced Article 4, which requires owners to seek planning permission to turn a home into a holiday let or second home. It was the first council in Wales to make use of the regulation, and Eryri National Park Authority has said it would do the same. This new restriction follows the increase in the second home premium from 100pc to 150pc in April 2023. The tax was initially put in place in 2018 at 50pc, but has subsequently been raised twice. The council has also placed a 100pc council tax on properties that are vacant for six months In a council meeting in November, increasing premiums on empty properties was discussed, but it was decided more consultation was needed before taking any further measures. Local authorities in Wales have the right to increase council tax on second homes by up to 300pc. Rhys Elvins, of Elvins estate agents, said: 'Gwynedd as a whole introduced the Article 4 proposal in September so hit the market, as well as national issues of mortgage rates and the cost of living. 'The council tax has always been around or been around for a while and it does put buyers off. There has been a slow decline in house prices in that area. The peak of the market was the end of 2022 but since then and through 2023 and into 2024 the market has been dropping.' Mr Elvins added that the area had seen a bigger drop-off because of the tax and the increase in stamp duty on second homes that he said has gone 'too far'. In December, Mark Drakeford, Welsh cabinet secretary for finance, introduced a 1-percentage-point rise in land transaction tax on additional properties. The increase costs landlords more than an extra £2,000 on the average house, and comes amid an increasingly tough environment for second home owners in Wales. Last year, the Welsh government announced plans that would force them to register their properties and apply for licences to carry on letting them during another crackdown. Iain Mansfield, chief financial officer at Principality Building Society, said: 'In 2019, Welsh government's own research suggested Wales needs between 6,700 to almost 10,000 new homes of all types on average, annually, to meet housing need. 'Despite the Welsh government's longstanding target to build 20,000 new homes by 2026 to ease housing constraints, current levels of supply are falling short of this requirement.' Gwynedd Council was approached for comment.
