Chartered surveyors Lea Hough listed several reasons as to why property in Barrow is good to invest in, with opportunities at BAE Systems and proximity to the Lake District amongst them.
This comes after a recent report from The Telegraph found that Barrow’s house prices had the highest value for money rating of all British towns and cities, with the research also including factors like electricity prices, food bills and commuting costs.
David Corrie, managing director of estate agent Corrie & Co, told The Mail that Barrow is in a lucky position in terms of the housing market.
“We have, relative to the overall national market and certainly for the North West, a very strong property market for the area, so Barrow is well ahead of average,” he said.
“It’s a micro-climate and it’s far stronger than other areas. We’ve heard of downturns in the market in places like Blackpool, Preston etc. There is no evidence of that in Barrow, we have strong property prices and strong demand.”
Mr Corrie also believes that the current economic climate is playing a significant part in the town’s budding reputation as a property hotspot.
“The economic environment we have plays a part, we’re very fortunate with the manufacturing around BAE.
“That actually means that we don’t see the demand for your traditional two up, two down houses. The strong demand is for family units, three bed semis, three and four bed detached houses, in good areas.”
However, Mr Corrie believes that, while the housing market is doing well in the town, there is a shortage of a certain type of house.
“In terms of pricing Barrow and Ulverston are very strong, unlike areas like Kendal and Lancaster that can be price sensitive.
“However, for quality family accommodation in the Furness area, there’s a shortage of supply.
“That’s due to the number of people, you can’t commute into the area easily, and due to the increase in the workforce at places like BAE, people are looking to buy.”
Lea Hough described Barrow as a ‘property hotspot’ and Paul Dignan, who co-leads the firm’s building surveying team, believes that it is an exciting time for Barrow.
“It used to be said that, if you wanted to buy property in Barrow, then you could choose between a low-value small house (e.g. terraced), or a very high-end Lake District type house; and it was thought that there wasn’t too much in between,” Mr Dignan added.
“However, this does seem to have been addressed somewhat by housing developments that have taken place, so there is more choice these days for professional staff who want newer 3 or 4 bedroom detached houses.
“It is great that the local authority has allocated land for housing developments in recent years.”
Commercial property is also a key part of investment into the town and Mr Dignan believes that the confidence that the council has put into commercial property is beneficial.
“The council have demonstrated some confidence in the commercial market by developing and part-funding the new-build office space at Harding Rise, on the Waterfront, in the past five years,” he said.
“This again brings investment into the town, redevelops a site and results in high quality employment space.
“There is only really one road into Barrow and one road out, but the road was upgraded around 10-20 years ago, and it is a much better route and the town is much better connected these days.”