ACCORDING to one estate agent property prices on Anglesey have rocketed 250 per cent in the last three years and far from slowing are about to get another powerful boost courtesy of the military.

RAF Valley, the helicopter base near Holyhead, may be about to become a commercial airport. Work has already begun on a passenger terminal and the plan is it would service domestic routes, flying in passengers from regional airports such as Stansted, Dublin, Cardiff and Manchester.

No timescale is yet in place about when it will become operational but it is sure to have an impact on house prices, opening up the market to southern buyers looking for a seaside bolt hole.

Melfyn Williams, an agent on Anglesey and president of the National Association of Estate Agents said: "It is 99 per cent definite Valley is going to become commercial and that will have an impact on property prices as it opens up the area to the whole of the UK.

"It will increase trade and business and transform accessibility to the island.

"Over the last three years prices here risen dramatically but so far this year the market has been more `normal' and anything overpriced, even by é10-é15,000 has been sticking. Buyers know the market and what properties are worth and will no longer pay over the odds."

Appetite

Richard Tuke used to be based in Manchester as sales and marketing director for a major house builder but now runs his own property company on Anglesey. He said: "There is a continued appetite for property as an investment and safety net for a pension, but people now want to make use of and enjoy that investment as well so the holiday home market has remained strong.

"These buyers want something that has already been refurbished to a high standard with top quality fittings and something they can just lock up or that can be easily rented out to help them off-set the costs. The standards are getting very high.

"The other factor that has influenced prices here and demand has been the Lake District's decision to ban high speed craft from Windermere. All the skiers and powerboat racers have been looking for an alternative base and many have ended up in north Wales.

"Properties with access to a jetty or a boat house have a premium at the moment."

Tuke is currently handling the marketing for a small development of big family houses near to Trearddur Bay by Eaden Homes and two have been bought by north west families as weekend homes despite prices starting at é250,000.

He said: "They are within walking distance of the beach and the village and incredibly high spec with underfloor heating, American windows built to take the weather and can have five beds and two baths or four beds and three baths.

"This is the sort of money people are prepared to invest in a good second home."

Please select the links below for more information.

Tweet