Keswick’s property market faces fresh interest from buyers wanting to create holiday lets and large second homes, according to an experienced commercial property professional.
Keith Mitchell, of Edwin Thompson in St John’s Street, was commenting following a string of decisions last week by planners at the Lake District National Park Authority.
Its development control committee gave the green light for three Keswick guesthouses to become holiday lets with more in the pipeline.
Guesthouse owners have also been applying for permission from the national park for their properties to become large private homes after failing to sell them as a tourism business.
Some estate agents have told the park authority that there is often more interest in making them a private home or a holiday let – hence the need for their “use” to be officially changed.
But Mr Mitchell said that while sales of guesthouses was “not strong at the moment,” there are still examples of sales being made and people wanting to take on guesthouses and B&Bs.
Mr Mitchell said: “We are still selling guesthouses as guesthouses and we are also selling guesthouses which have achieved a change of use to a holiday let.
“We have also got some guesthouses where they are seeking to change them to permanent dwellings.
“There has always been churn in the guesthouse and B&B market and that will always be the case.”
He said the last six-to-12 months had seen lots of activity in residential house sales with prices in Keswick increasing by anywhere between 10 to 30 per cent.
He believes lockdown had caused many people across the country to “reflect on the confines of their four walls” – particularly if they had a family and lived in an urban area with little to no outside space.
“They might have felt very claustrophobic and there will be people who have bought properties during and following the lockdowns who want to avoid it happening again with a strategic move to buy in a beautiful place such as Cumbria,” said Mr Mitchell.
“There will be others who have taken the view that actually travelling abroad may not return to what it once was, so let’s get a holiday home as an investment in a place where we can use it to generate an income.
“Whilst it’s not being used by them, it also gives them a place to run to should another lockdown occur, so they can maintain where they are and have somewhere new.”
Mr Mitchell has been involved in commercial property sales for more than 30 years.
