Bath is a beautiful place BUT…..

[Journey1234]

I honestly had no idea how beautiful Bath was until I came here. I’ve absolutely loved it! The city centre is stunning, with amazing shops, restaurants, and gorgeous architecture everywhere you look.

I drove through a little area called Twerton and stopped at the corner shop £3.00 for a tiny loaf of bread. While I was there, I had a look at the local house prices and was genuinely shocked. The cheapest house I found was around £270,000, and it needed loads of work. In many other parts of the country, a house like that would probably be closer to £120,000.

I also looked at local job salaries, and they seem really low compared to the cost of housing. It honestly made me wonder how do people afford to live here? House prices range from around £270,000 for a fairly ordinary home needing renovation to £9 million for some of the city’s most incredible properties.

Bath is one of the most beautiful places I’ve visited, but I really feel for local people trying to get on the property ladder.

Bristol has a similar range of house prices. That's why I live outside both cities.
My 4 bed 1930s house is worth about £600K and that's pretty normal for the satellite towns around here.

Im going my teen to Bath in October as he wants to look around the University, thanks for the heads up as I had no idea.

Now worrying about the extra expense of being a student 😅

It’s Crazy because the salaries don’t seem higher than other places.

I can only afford to live here because I moved here over 25 years ago (I paid less than £100k !!!).

I grew up in Bath and house prices stopped me from returning.

I do still pine for it.

I grew up on Bath. Twerton as far as I'm aware is not posh or expensive but you're paying through the nose for a loaf of bread from most cornershops

Twerton is the worst part of Bath! I live nearby, we are thinking of moving into Bath, its absolutely lovely and my teen is there all the time socialising. But it is super pricey. We would definitely get a lot less for our money in Bath!

I grew up in the area. The village I grew up in became one of the fastest growing house value areas in the late 90s because of the trainline to london apparently. In those days 1.75 hours into London was a reasonable commute for those who wanted executive salaries and rural/idyllic living for their SAHM wives and kids. I guess the bubble never really burst. It's a beautiful part of the world and wealth begets wealth doesn't it..

yes, just because there are corner shops selling expensive sourdough boule doesn't mean everyone living in Bath buys it as their main bread! They grab a £1.50 loaf of Hovis from Tesco like the rest of the country!

Bath, like Bristol, is very popular for people moving out of London, who see £800,000 for an actual house in a nice area as a complete bargain as they'll still get change from their Zone 2 flat, compared to the other 90% of the country who see it as expensive.

Other options for how people can afford to live there are inheritance, they bought years ago when it was cheaper, one partner earns very well to the extent that the other partner earning a 'normal' salary, or not working at all, doesn't matter, they're in huge debt etc. Well off people will subsidise some services (albeit not all) - e.g. if you are a builder, cleaner, home decorator, childminder etc. the market rate for your services will be much higher than they would be in, for example, Blackpool or Blaenau Gwent so there is some trickle down economy.

Or, in simple terms, some people just have a lot of money. Only 4% (approx) of the population earn over £100,000, but that's still 2 million people, so a lot of nice houses.

It was a small load of warbutons lol

I’m sure a lot of young people there aren’t on the housing ladder. Many will have bought years ok &/or used equity to purchase property like in many areas b

Twerton is probably one of the cheapest areas of Bath. It is a very expensive place to live. And to pp who asked about student rent prices - yes it is far more expensive than other university towns. Friends had children at Bath and Southampton unis and said the one at Soton paid a fraction of the rent the one in Bath paid.

It is gorgeous though, isn’t it!

Cheltenham is similar. Lovely place but the house prices are very high. A 1 bed apartment will cost upwards of £250000

@Journey1234 how big was the house for £270k? A two-bedroom Victorian terrace where I live is £330k and that’s the cheapest house around. So, those prices are on par with all the houses in the SE.

Where do you live to be able to get a house for 120k? We couldn’t even get a one-bed studio for that.

I grew up in Bath, my parents and brother still live there. My brother bought a house a couple of years ago on an average salary, but combined with his then-partner’s also average salary, it worked. I have several friends who left Bath for London as young adults (as did I), built up London careers with London salaries, then moved back to Bath to live whilst WFH and taking the excellent train into London a handful of days a month for office days - which is how they afford Bath house prices, and I suspect there are many like them. I’ve stayed in London because London is home, but if I ever wanted to move it’s a tempting proposition.

Twerton isn’t at all bad nowadays: it’s affordable as there’s a lot of social housing, but in recent years a lot of student housing has been built nearby which has changed the community.

ETA: Bristol and Cardiff are both quite popular hubs for some major insurers and law firms who have offices there - also very commutable from Bath.

Brighton is the same and I don't understand how a lot of people afford to live here. London is closer but it's still a tough commute. I think more people rent than buy but it's still expensive.

I've always,lived within 8 miles of Bath and know it well. It is beautiful, particularly the architecture. It's very much a city of several parts though - the posh areas e.g. Lansdown, Combe Down etc are very expensive, and Royal Crescent, Pulteney Street and The Circus are for millionaires! Oldfield Park is basically student land, but there are some new build student flats in the centre.
The edges of the city, apart from Combe Down and Lansdown, are more affordable generally but still more expensive than nearby places.

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My Dd is at Bath university - £££ for accommodation! Her brother was at Warwick which was a bargain in comparison.

Twerton is the area of Bath people will tell you not to live in. I love living here but it’s very expensive, cost of living is high and often think about moving out. Was affordable a few years ago but it’s increasingly unaffordable. Council tax is expensive too. We are both senior public sector and it’s a struggle.

OP, where can you buy any sort of house for 120k? I live in the SE and prices here are just as high as Bath.

This

North east, some parts of Scotland, much of Wales

My neice is just buying a 3 bed semi near Durham, for 82K. And it’s in pretty good condition.

Wow, I didn't realise you could get such prices nowadays but I have only lived in SE/SW.

I know. And they get paid the same salaries in the public sector there, as we do in the SW.
Meanwhile a friend is buying a small terrace in London for a million - and it’s no where near the centre!