johnh009

That's what I said about rental properties, there are plenty around standing empty. Like with sales, it is down to affordability. Even if there is a shortage, if people cannot afford them or get a mortage, then they are not going to buy.

It is more like a standoff at high noon at the moment with sellers refusing to budge. With low interest rates they can probably hold out for now but if they change it may be a different story. Or if land prices were to decrease then builders could sell for less.

bandrui

Yes, that's what it seems like.

The increased inventory of property for sale is due to over-optimistic sellers continuing to raise house prices through the first quarter of this year. If prices start to come down even slightly (as they must if places aren't selling) it might start a stampede of sellers lowering their prices for fear of losing even more value.

bandrui

Hi rumpuss. Welcome and thanks for the post. I have been looking at Somerset... Frome, Taunton, etc. and shall continue to do so. I haven't yet looked at Chard but will do. Thanks.


John: I am feeling quite good about the Malvern area. The area certainly has a lot of natural beauty and I would think that the property values are pretty good. My family on my Grandmother's side, the Groves, have been fruit and veggie growers there for generations and have held land there (Worcestershire) since the 14th century so there is a deep sense of rootedness that I have there.
One of my goals is to do a lot more family research in the Worcester records office so it would be convenient for that. Being a gardener myself, another Uk goal is to attend the Three Counties Show which must be a big deal because I got stuck in a hefty traffic jam on the M5 when the show was on.

What can you tell us about Malvern, Great Malvern and the area as our man on the ground. I am thinking about continuing as a gardener or starting a wool-based business (duvets, felted clothing, etc.). Would this be a good place? Markets? What is the economy based on? Agriculture? Any down side?

I like the access to Worcester, Evesham, Tewkesbury, Cheltenham, Cotswolds, Herefordshire, Shropshire. This area always feels like the Heart of Britain to me.

johnh009

Yes, Malvern is ceratinly centrally placed. The M5 is close which gives you easy access to the Birmingham and Bristol areas for potential markets. Fruit growing is a big business, especially for cider and perry production. The centre of Malvern caters to tourists and is famous for its theatre so there is an opportunity there. I will PM you rather than bore everyone else with what information I can dig up.

cheers

Aye Aye I'm listening to

bandrui

Thanks John. If others are interested, then post here. I did start this thread initially for personal help on different places in the Uk but welcomed the opening up to areas of broader interest such as current property market in the UK.
So if anyone else out there is interested in Malvern, speak upor forthwith or forever hold your peace (where have I heard that recently ).

cheers

from the Daily Mail

And after William finishes his three-year stint with the RAF he and Kate are expected to move into a six-bedroom house his father has had built at Harewood Park in Herefordshire.
Situated in prime countryside between Monmouth and Ross-on-Wye, the 900-acre estate was bought by the Duchy of Cornwall, which provides Prince Charles with his annual income, in 2000.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1L9bCw7IT

See we have class too.

Giantaxe

Roubini and Shiller. The former wrote the book about "black swan events" and Shiller wrote the book about "irrational exuberance". There was another guy , Peter Schiff, who I recall getting ridiculed on television for his negative views on housing.

bandrui

This is the link I meant to send you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harewood_Park

in the footnotes there are several references to this including "The Herefordshire Times" just in case the Daily Mail isn't trusted.

brits1

I agree with you on this...when we knew we were returning home we started to look at areas we already knew and even put an offer on a home while still in Aus.....glad it fell through as we have rented in Derbyshire (we were only slightly familiar with Derbyshire and the area we have rented in) we really like the area but we are still finding new areas we did not know, so have yet to buy. At times I would love my own home again but after moving so many times we want to get our (as humanly possible) forever home....now I might get a few comments on my next remarks but well "we feel sometimes with the wonderful UK countryside we will never pin down an area, we honestly remembered just how lovely the countryside was where we use to live before migrating but on our travels around the UK since our return, we keep changing our minds as we keep discovering such pretty areas etc" and no I dont work for "visit Britain"..lol....

Beedubya

I know what you mean Brits, I haven't been that far on my travels yet, but I see such beauty and I cannot believe that I did not see all this before I emigrated, yesterday I drove around the Cheshire countryside and it was so goddamn beautiful.

brits1

We took a walk along the Macclesfield canal last week...just High lane to Bollington....it was lovely.....stopped off at the Miners Arms along the way, chatted to lots of other walkers, bike riders etc and the countryside wow, an ideal way to take in the views is sometimes from the canal routes we even had our two sons tag along with us and they are now talking of buying a Kayak!!!!!

johnh009

Okay, well, if you need any specific information regarding transport, real estate, business, etc. don't hesitate to contact me and I will be happy to dig it out if I can. Apart from Malvern (or The Malverns because there is Great Malvern, Malvern West, Little Malvern, Malvern Wells, etc.) there are many other places. The composer Sir Edward Elgar is buried in the churchyard at Little Malvern. But, as mentioned, Ledbury is also a good place. Google Earth or Google Maps is a good way to check the area out. Some of the low lying areas by the River Severn are prone to flooding so you have to watch out for this. The hills are of igneous rock so there is little chance of any movement there and the rain runs straight off.

johnh009

But this is the thing about England, as a child, growing up in Yorkshire, I was brought up to believe that Yorkshire was the most beautiful place in the country and I should never leave because I may encounter those dreaded "southerners". During this era, there was very little movement of people throughout England so this was a common mentality. Of course, Yorkshire is beautiful (in parts) but so are many other places in England. Every county has its own attractions and unique scenery.

Beedubya

Agreed but returning from another country, I believe we see the beauty with new and refreshed eyes which if we hadn't migrated we possibly would not be able to appreciate fully.