Premium prices for homes located in National Parks

Updated

A property in one of the country's National Parks costs nearly 11 times the wages of someone living there typically, a report has found.

Across England and Wales, the cost of a home in a National Park is more than £100,000 higher on average than the cost of a property in the county it is situated in, according to the Lloyds Bank National Parks Review.

With an average price tag of £332,755, a home in a National Park costs 10.9 times local average gross annual earnings, as those living locally find themselves competing to buy a property with people searching for a holiday home.

The property price-to-earnings ratio means that someone living in a National Park faces a much bigger stretch to buy a home than someone across England and Wales generally, where homes will cost around 7.6 times buyers' wages.

By comparison, a home in London now costs around 14.2 times the average annual wage there.

Of the 12 National Parks included in the research, the average premium that buyers paid to live there compared with property prices in the surrounding county areas was £101,880.

Eleven of the National Park areas had higher average prices than those in the surrounding county, with only Snowdonia in Wales having lower property prices than those in the surrounding area.

A home in the New Forest will cost a buyer almost double (94%) the average house price in the surrounding area.

This was the biggest premium found across the National Parks, followed by the Peak District and the Lake District, which command house price premiums of 89% and 72% respectively compared with their surrounding areas.

The average property in the New Forest costs £531,162, compared with the typical property price nearby of £273,120.

A home in the New Forest costs 14.2 times the local average wage, making it the least affordable of the National Park areas looked at.

Snowdonia was the most affordable National Park to buy a property, with the average home costing £165,840 - equating to 6.2 times the average local annual wage.

Andrew Mason, mortgages director at Lloyds Bank, said: "Many home buyers are prepared to dig that bit deeper to benefit from the lifestyle associated with living in National Parks. As areas of outstanding natural beauty, they are also prime locations for those seeking second properties. The combined impact of these factors is that house prices are typically much higher than those in surrounding areas.

"When we take average local earnings into account, this situation can make it really tough for many of those living and working in National Parks to afford to buy their own home."

Advertisement