House prices in Eden and Keswick are increasing by an average of more than £3,000 a month as the region becomes one of the UK’s property hotspots.
Experts say the demand, which has seen prices go up by 20.2 per cent in the last 12 months, has been fuelled by a combination of locals, workers moving into the region, investors or people buying second homes – many of whom are cash buyers.
One estate agent said that buyers are paying up to £100,000 over the asking price to secure properties and some are even making bids without viewing it in person.
The price rises are across the board but outlying villages like Greystoke, Temple Sowerby, Kirkby Thore, Lowther and Pooley Bridge have been identified as particular hotspots.
One property — a £250,000 derelict detached house in Culgaith, Penrith, in need of a full renovation – had to stop being marketed after it received 25 viewings within 24 hours, all of whom were cash buyers.
The fear is that first-time buyers in Eden, who are spending an average of £31,000 more on their property than a year ago, are being priced out the area.
Glenn Howard is the manager of the Penrith office of H&H Land & Estates and said the property market had been “red hot” since the industry resumed last May after the first lockdown.
“It’s been a record-breaking time,” he said. “In March we sold around 20 properties worth a total of £8m and that was just in Penrith. I’ve never worked in a marketplace like it.
“We manage a portfolio of between 70 properties valued at between £100,000 and £3m. Cumbria is a prime location where people want to live.
“We don’t want boom and bust but there are a lot of cash buyers out there. We try to find the right valuations but it’s so hotly contested and we’re regularly seeing the asking price being exceeded by between £5,000 and £100,000.
“We did 10 sales in the last 14 days and they’ve all been to cash buyers.
“We offer virtual tours and a lot of buyers are putting in offers without actually viewing the property in person.”
Kate Patrick is the head of estate agency at H&H Land & Estates, which has branches in Penrith, Keswick, Cockermouth, Carlisle and Kendal.
She said: “There’s been an increase in demand across all the branches, especially for rural locations. It’s phenomenal. The pandemic has meant a lot of people have been working from home and they want more space.
“The combination of the five per cent mortgages, low interest rates and stamp duty holiday has meant the property market is booming.
“I’ve been working in estate agency for 17 years and it has the vibe of the 2007 boom.”
Nick Elgey is the property sales and marketing consultant at Hackney and Leigh Estate Agents, which has nine offices mainly located in the Lake District.
He said: “Eden is quite a wide district and within it there are various honeypot locations near the Lakes where there is exceptionally high demand for properties from local and national buyers.
“The demand has arisen from a range of prospective buyers including locals, people moving into the area with employment or retirement and investors seeking a second home or a lucrative holiday let property.
“The recent property price increases within Eden are not a uniform broad brush as some properties are much more sought after than others depending on their type and location.
“The villages that are in striking distance of the Lakes are understandably most popular and there is no indication of the demand reducing despite the phasing out of the stamp duty holiday.
“We recently agreed sales for two cottages in Staffield, near Kirkoswald, and were managing 30 viewings a day to meet the demand.
“We were inviting offers in excess of £180,000 for each of them and were absolutely inundated with local and national interest from first-time buyers, second home buyers and investors.
“There’s also an exceptionally high level of interest for new homes in Eden which is benefitting the house builders.”
Lynne Lancaster is the head of estate agency at PFK and admitted it was tough for first-time buyers.
She said: “Demand is outweighing supply in all areas including Eden. At the start of 2019 before the pandemic, we were already experiencing a lack of supply and this has continued since the pandemic.
“We have seen an increase in prices between 10 to 20 per cent in some areas.
“First-time buyers are finding it hard to get onto the property ladder as house prices increase however we have also sold local occupancy houses in many of our operating areas including new build homes.
“If you look on Rightmove you will see in the immediate Penrith area that there are 98 properties on the market up to £180,000 with 40 of those properties available so there are properties but again, as with all other price ranges, demand outweighs supply.”
