House prices increased slightly, by 0.4%, in Cornwall in January, new figures show.
But the rise does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 2.8% annual decline.
The average Cornwall house price in January was £300,974, Land Registry figures show – a 0.4% increase on December.
Over the month, the picture was different to that across the South West, where prices increased 1.5%, and Cornwall was lower than the 0.5% rise for the UK as a whole.
Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Cornwall fell by £8,800 – putting the area 20th among the South West’s 26 local authorities with price data for annual growth.
The highest annual growth in the region was in South Hams, where property prices increased on average by 11%, to £432,000.
At the other end of the scale, properties in Torridge lost 13% of their value, giving an average price of £286,000.
First steps on the property ladder
First-time buyers in Cornwall spent an average of £247,000 on their property – £7,200 less than a year ago, but £55,700 more than in January 2019.
By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £339,100 on average in January – 37.3% more than first-time buyers.
Property types
Owners of semi-detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in Cornwall in January – they increased 0.6%, to £293,852 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 1.7%.
Among other types of property:
Detached: up 0.4% monthly; down 2.9% annually; £439,310 average
Terraced: up 0.4% monthly; down 3.1% annually; £240,318 average.
Flats: up 0.2% monthly; down 3.8% annually; £166,570 average
How do property prices in Cornwall compare?
Buyers paid 5% less than the average price in the South West (£317,000) in January for a property in Cornwall. Across the South West, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost is £282,000.
The most expensive properties in the South West were in Cotswold – £500,000 on average, and 1.7 times the price as in Cornwall. Cotswold properties cost 2.3 times the price as homes in Plymouth (£221,000 average), at the other end of the scale.
The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, at £1.2 million.
Factfile
Average property price in January Cornwall: £300,974
The South West: £316,879UK: £281,913
Annual change to January
Cornwall: -2.8%
The South West: -0.6%UK: -0.6%
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Average property rates in Ayodhya, where the Ram Mandir was opened to the general public on January 23, have gone up by 179 percent in the last three months, according to Magicbricks, an online real estate portal.
“According to Magicbricks Research, average prices in Ayodhya have increased from Rs 3,174 per sq ft in October 2023 to Rs 8,877 per sq ft in January 2024,” the portal said in a statement issued to Moneycontrol.
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Alongside, searches for residential properties in Ayodhya have risen 6.25 times, Magicbricks claimed.
During the same three-month period, the platform has seen a whopping 6.25x jump in searches for residential properties in Ayodhya, indicating growing interest from prospective home buyers and increasing residential demand in the city,” the statement added.
Amit Singh, a local real estate broker from Ayodhya, said there has been no change in circle rates in the city in the last 5-6 years but the market rate is very high, thereby creating a gap between the prices. “In some pockets of the city, the prices are now unaffordable, especially for locals,” he added.
“The spike in property prices has been the highest in the last six months because of the opening of the Ram Mandir and infrastructural development in the city. To cash in on the opportunity, many buyers from other districts and regions across the country have purchased properties here at higher rates, which has changed the real estate market dynamic,” Singh added.
Where are investments being made?
Majority of the investments in property are being done in land and apart from properties in the city, several areas such as Faizabad Road, Deokali, Chaudah Kosi Parikrama, Ring Road, Nayaghat, and areas along the Lucknow-Gorakhpur highway are seeing strong demand, local brokers said.
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These areas are located within a 6-20-km radius of the Ram Mandir and hence have drawn investor interest, they added.
Also read: Ayodhya Ram Mandir: Amitabh Bachchan has invested in land, should you too?
Property registration data
According to data from the Stamp and Registration Department of Ayodhya district, property registrations rose 120 percent between 2017 and 2022.
In 2017, well before the Supreme Court verdict in 2019, as many as 13,542 properties were registered in Ayodhya. This went up to 29,889 in 2022, according to the government data.
According to ANAROCK Group, a real estate consultancy, land rates, which ranged from Rs 1,000 to 2,000 per sqft in 2019, are now at Rs 4,000 to 6,000 per sqft.
Also read: House of Abhinandan Lodha plans to launch a 25-acre project in Ayodhya by January 2024
Moneycontrol had reported on January 24 about property prices close to the Ram Mandir area fluctuating between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 per sq ft. Those located within 6-15 km of the temple site command a rate of Rs 4,000-Rs 9,000 per sq ft.
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