Shropshire Star

Spa towns tap in as house prices double

House prices in spa towns across Shropshire and Mid Wales have almost doubled over the past 10 years – and are up to £84,000 more expensive than homes elsewhere in the area, new research has revealed.

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House prices in spa towns across Shropshire and Mid Wales have almost doubled over the past 10 years – and are up to £84,000 more expensive than homes elsewhere in the area, new research has revealed.

The average cost of buying a home in Church Stretton is now £272,576 – a rise of £130,000 or 92 per cent on 2001 prices and more than £84,000 over the £187,854 price of a home in Shropshire, according to a study by Lloyds TSB.

And Builth Wells and Llandrindod Wells have recorded the largest increases in house prices in Britain, with prices rising 170 per cent in Builth Wells to £183,050 and 109 per cent in Llandrindod Wells to £155,469.

They were among five spa towns in Britain to have seen house prices double.

Costs have also soared in Tenbury Wells on the south Shropshire border, with the average home now costing £237,127 – a rise of more than £111,000 on 2001 prices. The cost of a home is £4,000, or 17 per cent, more than the Worcestershire average.

All four towns have been named in the top 10 of a list of rising house prices in spa towns across Britain. And Lloyds TSB chiefs have revealed that across the country homeowners pay an average 'premium' of £50,000 to buy a home in a spa town.

Spa towns were initially built around natural mineral water sources such as springs. Church Stretton actually missed out on official spa status at the turn of the 20th century but mineral water produced in the Strettons has been sold for decades.

Epsom in Surrey was named as the most expensive spa town, with an average house price of £339,231.

Stuart Wright of Wrights Estate Agents, in Church Stretton, said: "Church Stretton is a retirement town and bucks the trend as there are no closed shops. There is also the tourism aspect – people come here on holiday and end up retiring here."

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