Property prices in Keswick have soared by 20 per cent in a year, according to an estate agent who said there has been unprecedented demand for homes in the Lake District during the last 12 months.
Nick Elgey, who covers Keswick as sales manager for Hackney & Leigh, said he is seeing higher demand than he has experienced in his 35 years in the industry.
“I have not seen anything like the demand in the last 12 months, it has been utterly remarkable,” he said.
A number of factors are at play in driving interest and prices.
The pandemic has influenced buyers to invest in bricks and mortar as a “safe haven” for potential long-term capital appreciation, he said.
In short, buying a property in Keswick would always benefit from a rise in house prices.
There are several reasons why investors see the Lake District as an attractive place to buy property, including the chance for property price inflation, the income opportunities of holiday let renting and the option to use it as a family holiday home, he said.
“Anything in the Lake District honeypot locations such as Keswick will always see national demand and sometimes international demand, especially where there is a lake view or water frontage. There will always be incredible levels of demand because of the scarcity of those properties,” said Nick.
“I would say in Keswick in the last 12 months, we have seen a 20 per cent increase in prices.”
But for the first time for as long as Nick can remember, the demand for properties is changing.
“We are seeing more interest in North Lakes than South Lakes. Traditionally, South Lakes has always been the place with the highest level of interest. But with the North
Lakes people are considering its accessibility to the M6, proximity to Penrith railway station and its close links to Scotland and Newcastle.
“There is also a view that the North Lakes is less intense.”
