Low-paid workers could be priced out of tourist hotspots
Some workers could be priced out of their tourist communities as house prices and rents soar in seaside locations.
There have been concerns an exodus of workers from costly coastal and rural areas could exacerbate shortages in tourism and hospitality sectors.
House prices rose at three times the national rate in some rural and coastal areas in July 2021, compared to the previous year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.
Areas to seek price hikes included Conwy in North Wales (25.0 per cent), North Devon (22.5 per cent) and Richmondshire in the Yorkshire Dales (21.4 per cent).
After multiple lockdowns, home buyers are keen to buy spacious properties in areas with lots of greenery.
However, this means young and low-paid incomes could be priced out of their local areas.
Prices have also gone up because of temporary changes to the stamp duty.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property data, said: “Undoubtedly the heady rises in some tourist hotspots and rural locations over the past eighteen months have led to stretched affordability, meaning that some people looking to get their first step on the ladder, or to trade up, are having to widen the area they’re looking at to afford the type of property that they want.
A “race for space” was the result of eighteen months where homes suddenly became consumers’ “workplaces, workout rooms and schools overnight,” Bannister added.
The news will concern hospitality bosses, who have already pleaded the government to help stem its labour shortages.