Ramsgate's Renaissance
Gordon Miller reports that a gentle seaside town's property market looks set for a summer boom.
The latest Nationwide Building Society figures reveal property values in the UK have fallen by 17.6 per cent in the past 12 months but the Kent seaside town of Ramsgate is bucking the trend.
House prices have only dipped by 9.6 per cent, according to Land Registry statistics.
The relatively modest decline can be attributed to the renaissance of this attractive town and port.
Home to a nice sandy beach and the 700-berth Royal Harbour Marina, several new restaurants, coffee shops and bars have opened in recent months and a £90million regeneration fund has been earmarked to further improve Ramsgate's outlook.
The biggest news, however, is the imminent arrival of a high-speed rail service between London St Pancras, Ashford and the Kent coast.
The service has been undergoing trials and will be operational later this year, halving the journey time from Ramsgate to London to around 85 minutes.
Underlining Ramsgate's robust property market, Steven and Louisa Yeoman have had their Edwardian end-of-terrace five-bedroom home in East Cliff valued at the same price they paid for it in March 2007: £315,000.
The couple moved there from Muswell Hill, London, two years ago. Nationally, house values have fallen by more than a quarter in the past 24 months.
"We moved to Ramsgate for a change of pace and to be by the sea but within commutable distance," says Steven.
