House prices in Port Talbot have been climbing, despite controversy surrounding the fate of the Tata steel works, which employed around 10% of the town’s population, according to research by eMoov.co.uk.
The online estate agent found that the town has seen a recovery of 9% in the value of property when compared to this time last year, the same growth rate as England as a whole and 5% higher than Wales.
The average property value in Wales is now £146,272 and on the rise. Numbers show that nationally, prices are up by 2% in the past month and 5% annually.
Merthyr Tydfil has enjoyed the biggest yearly increase up 12%, whilst Gwynedd has seen prices drop 6% in the same time period.
Bucking the trend
Between June and July property prices across Wales saw a marginal decrease with just a 2% increase across England during the same time period. Port Talbot however, enjoyed an increase of 7% during this time.
Although the future of Tata’s steel works remains unclear, the rise in property prices in Port Talbot in the past year is an encouraging sign for the local community and discussions are continuing about a Pan-European merger with their closest competitor, ThyssenKrupp, but no concrete details have been released.
Russell Quirk, CEO of eMoov.co.uk, said: “Neath Port Talbot enjoying the biggest monthly increase in property values across Wales is great news for homeowners in the area after the uncertainty that has plagued the market due to Tata closing the steel works in the area.
“When the local economy relies so heavily on one particular trade or output to survive, it can be disastrous for the local property market when this trade declines drastically or in this case disappears altogether.
“Although the future of Tata steel works is not yet decided for certain, homeowners in Port Talbot have a small silver lining around the dark cloud that has been hanging above them for quite some time.”
