Rural Week - 'The cheapest home available in the village is £450k'...

At the moment my life revolves around Zoopla and Rightmove. Then back to Zoopla again. I change the price bracket, hoping that something may just pop up that needs a bit of work….we could negotiate the price down? Negative. Each morning I reach for my phone, click open the app, adjust the price bracket and….yes it’s become an obsession!

Back in February this obsession had not begun, instead my day consisted of filling in reams of paperwork, calculating our monthly spend, printing evidence of our savings accounts and, most importantly, proving our links to the local area. I was getting excited, we were applying for a low cost home ownership property in Cowbridge. However, I soon found out that managing expectation was key. I knew many many people would be applying for this single property. So 6 weeks later we found out… negative.

My boyfriend works on the family farm but earns very little. On the other hand, I earn a decent wage but despite working for a housing association, promoting affordable homes in the Vale of Glamorgan, we just can’t seem to purchase an affordable home ourselves anywhere near the farm.

We have been together for 2 years and privately rent a home…but it's 5 miles away from the farm. Depending on the time of year, my boyfriend moves in with his parents during lambing, harvest or when the horses are foaling. Not a prospect that fills me with excitement. I would like to add that we also have a decent deposit, but we still can’t find an affordable home within 5 miles of the farm. The cheapest home available in the nearest village is £450,000. Totally out of our reach. This makes our house search the most frustrating activity of the day.

So what is the solution? There isn’t one at the moment… a farm can’t be moved. I continue to hope that low cost affordable homes will be built near the farm. Likelihood? Negative. There was recent talk of a new housing development in the neighbouring village, but looks like these will be executive homes. The frustration continues.


Mared Elenid Williams @maredelenid
Marketing Coordinator, Newydd Housing Association