The latest research from online estate agent eMoov.co.uk looks at the property market in Cardiff and Wales ahead of this weekend’s Champions League final in the capital’s Principality Stadium.
Welsh homeowners have had a harder time than most over the last decade with a changing industrial landscape bringing uncertainty to the market and causing house prices to fall. Despite house prices actually maintaining an upward trend in 2007 when the majority of the UK came crashing back down, the closure of the last Welsh deep mine in 2008 seemed to be the trigger of the nation’s decline.
The average Welsh house price had peaked at £150,316 in August 2007 but by the start of 2008 had already fallen to £146,36. By January 2009 Welsh house prices hit the lowest annual rate of growth seen for the last 20 years, down -14.58%, with sales volumes also hitting a record low in the same time frame.
But the market crash was confined to the valleys and mining towns. The Welsh capital also felt the brunt of a declining economy. In January 2008 Cardiff house prices fell by -1.47% in one month, then by a further -2.91% in September alone, the largest monthly decrease since 1997. The average Cardiff house price fell from a peak of £170,496 in September 2007 to just £139,651 in April of 2009, a month that saw the largest annual decrease in house prices on record (-14.75%).
However, an endorsement from President Obama in 2014 that Wales is a great tourist destination looks to have put the wind back into the sails of the Welsh economy and in 2015 the country reported its highest ever number of inward investment projects.
Since 2014, the Welsh property market has remained fairly steady and the average house price has continued to climb to £147,746 today albeit with the odd monthly fall here and there, putting Welsh homeowners back within reach of the previous peak of 2007/2008.
However, since 2014 in Cardiff, prices have continued to go from strength to strength climbing steadily both on a monthly and annual basis, with the average house price in the city now £192,458, 12.88% higher than their previous peak.
With the city having been awarded the prestigious honour of hosting the Champions League final, it would seem that Cardiff and Wales have started to turn the tide of its industrial decline and stuttering economy, to find its place as a destination in its own right.
Although the result of Saturday’s game is unpredictable, it is clear that the Cardiff property market is on the winning side at present and looks set to retain its position over the coming seasons.
Founder and CEO of eMoov.co.uk, Russell Quirk, commented:
“Property in Wales has had its ups and downs due to the changing industrial and economic landscape, but it is nice to see Cardiff take a bow on the international stage by hosting the Champions League final. This match should bring the city to life and act as yet another global endorsement for Cardiff and Wales as a whole.
At present, house prices in Wales and Cardiff specifically remain some of the most affordable in the UK. Cardiff provides everything a capital city has to offer from a vibrant social scene, a great cultural offering, strong sporting spectacles and much more, but all with an average house price under £200,000.
Should this spotlight remain on the Welsh capital it’s safe to say prices will continue their consistent upward trend and this should benefit the nation’s wider economy as a whole.”