Tongue twisters home to higher house prices

January 9, 2020

The latest research by leading estate agent comparison site, GetAgent.co.uk, has looked at the cost of buying in pockets of the nation’s property market with the hardest to pronounce names.

GetAgent.co.uk looked at 10 areas that cause the most confusion when it comes to pronouncing the name, the cost of getting on the ladder in these areas, and how it compared to the wider local area.

The research shows that despite the difficulty in actually saying their names, these areas are home to an average house price of £271,167, 19.9% higher than the average cost of buying in the wider districts in which they are located.

The biggest difference is in Beaulieu, or Bew-lee, where the average property costs £605,181 compared to the wider average in the New Forest of £340,135 – a 77.9% difference! Beaulieu is also the tongue-twisting location with the highest average property price of the lot.

Ballachulish (Ball-a-hoolish) is home to the second-highest increase at 46.5%, with the average property going for £247,221 compared to £168,705 across the rest of the Highlands.

Homes in Quernmore (Kwor-mer) go for an average of £235,367 which comes in at 45.3% higher than the average across Lancaster as a whole, while Bicester (21.5%) and Omagh (20.4%) are also considerably higher than the wider area despite the hard to say place names.

It’s not all good news if you live in a tongue-twisting property market though. Ynysybwl (An-is-abull) in Rhondda Cynon Taf is home to the lowest average property price at £116,963 and is also some -2% lower than the wider regional average, while Godmanchester (Godmunchester) is home to the biggest difference and the only other drop when compared to the wider area of Huntingdonshire at -53.7%.

Founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, Colby Short, commented:  

“We know that some house numbers and even road names can deter homebuyers from a particular property but it would seem that being unable to pronounce the name of an area doesn’t have the same impact, with house prices across the majority of these locations coming in much higher than the surrounding districts.

In fact, while they might be a struggle to say, homeowners in these areas have well and truly avoided the Brexit blues and are enjoying particularly buoyant property values despite the market turbulence of recent months. So perhaps this is the key for current buyers looking for a sound investment.”

Ranking – by the biggest difference between area and wider district
Location
Average House Price
UA / District
Average House Price
Difference (%)
Beaulieu
£605,181
New Forest
£340,135
77.9%
Ballachulish
£247,221
Highland
£168,705
46.5%
Quernmore
£235,367
Lancaster
£161,936
45.3%
Bicester
£349,546
Cherwell
£287,630
21.5%
Omagh
£159,647
Fermanagh and Omagh
£132,642
20.4%
Rampisham
£338,906
Dorset
£295,349
14.7%
Frome
£298,291
Mendip
£263,317
13.3%
Woolfardisworthy
£240,387
Torridge
£233,793
2.8%
Ynysybwl
£116,963
Rhondda Cynon Taf
£119,290
-2.0%
Godmanchester
£120,165
Huntingdonshire
£259,525
-53.7%
Average
£271,167
Average
£226,232
19.9%

Source: Propdex, PropertyData and the Land Registry House Price Index

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