PROPERTY prices in Tunbridge Wells have increased by more than 50 per cent over the last decade, analysis has shown.
In the last year alone, they have risen on average £32,000.
At the time of the last census in 2011, the average home in the borough cost around £257,000.
Ten years on and the average property in Tunbridge Wells has rocketed to more than £401,000, according to estate agents Hamptons, which carried out the research using data from the ONS [Office for National Statistics].
Hamptons say the period around the last census in 2011 was similar to 2021 as it came after months of recession.
“Ten years on and there are distinct similarities to where we find ourselves today. Gripped by a global pandemic and mounting sovereign debt, the country finds itself in recession once more.
“However, this time, there is a notable difference – in a quest for space and a more balanced lifestyle, the housing market has been booming and prices rising,” a spokesperson for the estate agent said.
Across the UK, the average house price has risen from £168,000 in 2011 to £251,500 today.
Waltham Forest has seen the largest rise in the country with a 120 per cent increase seeing houses in the north east London borough rocket from £485,000 to more than £1million.
Despite the pandemic, vendors have reported huge jumps in house prices in some Tunbridge Wells postcodes over the last year. According to Zoopla, properties in some TN1 areas have shot up by 7.5 per cent in 12 months, with average property prices increasing by more than £32,000 to £463,000.
The price of a terrace house in TN1 now stands at £532,344, according to Zoopla estimates.
While many economists have warned that the current stamp duty holiday will see the housing market falter when it comes to an end on June 30, local estate agents don’t think so.
Stamp duty
Deborah Richards, Managing Partner at Maddisons Residential on The Pantiles, said that while the relief on stamp duty – which sees no tax on houses sold under £500,000 – ‘hasn’t hurt’ the local housing market, she believes the market will remain strong when it ends.
“Transaction levels were high a long time before the stamp duty holiday, and obviously it hasn’t hurt, but when it finishes, I think the market will remain strong.”
In April 2020, Ms Richards predicted on her video blog that the housing market would very quickly recover from Covid, going against economists and national newspapers who were all reporting a depression in the property market.
“I got a lot of positive feedback after that. When I heard all the doom and gloom I thought, no, that is not right,” she said. “Tunbridge Wells has always been highly sought after. We have fantastic restaurants, good shopping, lovely architecture, as well as fantastic schools.”
