Buying in Winchester. Help!

[TheSecond]

Hi all,

Looking to buy in Winchester, would love some help with areas.

Hyde looks okay, it seems a Victorian terraced is round 750k, the same I think in fullford is about 200k cheaper and it's near to the station. Which makes me wonder why? I thought this was a good area?

Another option is Water Lane, there is a nice cottage which is a contender.

I'd like to buy in a good area, decent catchment area would be lovely.

Budget would be aprx £750k.

Any help would be really appreciated!

Sorry Fulflood!

@TheSecond:

Depends on what your requirements are. Hyde is lovely, but Fulflood seems to have more variety, because some of it was built somewhat piecemeal over time. Houses in Hatherley Road and Fairfield Road tend to be similar and spacious, even terraced houses. Western Road, on the other hand, has houses that go from 4+ bedrooms (rear extensions and loft extensions) to two-bedroomed houses, e.g. this one: www.chartersestateagents.co.uk/property/winchester-hampshire-756/

One of the differences between Hyde and Fulflood is that Hyde is mostly flat, whereas Fulflood has a lot of "up". Clifton Road has lovely houses but they are narrow and three storey (from the junction with St Paul's Hill) because that's a very steep road. That will have an effect on price, because not everyone would be able to cope easily with such a slope.

Water Lane does have some issues at the moment. There has been ingress of water from the river in recent years, but there are flood defences due to be put in place soon.

If you're not familiar with Winchester and don't have much time to walk around, then google maps is a good idea plus reading the Hampshire Chronicle website.

Schools in Winchester are good, so catchment is probably not too much of an issue. There are also good things to do for children, especially the Discovery Centre and the Science Centre.

Think Hyde is greener and flatter and closer to city hence more popular? Fullflood is nice too. Not sure about water lane. I'd worry about the river. Also not sure what catchment it's in so you will need to check carefully. St Faiths and St Bedes are nearby but they are in such high demand you might not get in from there.

Hyde is notorious in Winchester for having a real sense of community. That's not something I've heard about Fulflood.
Schools for these areas would primarily be St. Bedes, Westgate, Western. All very good. £550k for a house in fulflood sounds on the low side tbh.
Also watch for subsidence with houses in Hyde, apparently several had cavities dug under them during the war or something.
I prefer a detached house personally and live slightly further out to get more space.

Thanks all.

We've spent a bit of time walking around Winchester, but it's always hard to know what areas are like without living there.

I thought it was really cheap too.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-67693781.html/svr/3113;jsessionid=B13904B584573A0DF562B4A334A3E38E

What I like about Hyde is you have the park and recreational areas nearby.

Maybe I've missed some other areas worth considering?

Thanks again!

I think the seemly vast differences in prices are concerning me, don't want to buy wrong.

Could Brassey rd one be one that backs on to the railway line? It does seem cheap!

Are you looking for primary or secondary catchment? Do you have a child going into yR or y7?

When we moved there, we rented to start with, to get to know the area. Ended up just outside the city, Westgate school catchment (really nice school IMO), the quintessential MN leafy comp

Winchester's a funny place. There are plenty of streets, within spitting distance of the city centre, where house prices can be 100k less than comparable houses in the next street along. It can all seem a bit random to newcomers and sometimes, if I'm honest, to residents. There are, however, usually reasons.

School catchment is one. Anything in catchment for St F's is ££££ - and often teeny-tiny. St B isn't that far behind, which probably also helps explain the discrepancy between house prices in Hyde and Fulflood.

As far as Brassey Rd goes, it's pleasant enough but the houses tend to be smaller than in nearby roads. The house you've identified also hasn't yet been extended, which may also have affected its price.

FWIW, Hatherley Rd has some of Fulflood's most expensive houses (some of them now £1m +). Fairfield Rd is probably no. 2 in the price comparison chart of the network of streets surrounding Peter Symonds. (I'm excluding Cheriton Rd, which is even pricier and I'm not quite sure if it's actually Fulflood.) In Hyde, Arthur Rd tends to be the most expensive (again, the biggest semis there are now going for north of £1m). In the city centre, it's Parchment St.

I'd be wary of Water Lane. Some of the houses there flooded in 2013 and although Winch now has excellent flood defences, I'd want to be sure I could get mainstream insurance easily. (This may be OK as I have an idea that the government has implemented measures to ensure that everyone can access insurance, even in flood risk areas.)

Another factor to consider is traffic and parking. The city centre is gridlocked much of the time and you'd have no way of avoiding that in Hyde. Bit easier in Fulflood. Also parking spaces are often very hard to find and, as you'll have seen, few houses have garages or off street parking.

I used to live in Hyde and loved it but moved out (to one of the villages) for more space. As a PP said, it is VERY sociable and friendly but also, frankly, a bit goldfish bowl-like, if you know what I mean.

Sorry, essay. Hope you find somewhere you love.

Sorry, one other thing: if you're looking for in-year entry, being in catchment for your preferred school may not help. This would almost certainly be true of St F and probably of St B, at least in Yrs R-2. I think Western is easier to get a place in but by no means definite. Not sure about Westgate primary but bear in mind the top year is currently Y3.

Less of an idea about secondary yet but Kings is VERY popular and not everyone who applied from within Winchester city (never mind the outlying districts) got a place this year. That said, all three secondaries are excellent and I'd be happy for my children to go to any of them.

Hyde is notorious in Winchester

Notorious?!
I thought a sense of community was a good thing...

Brassey Rd does run down to the railway line yes.

I meant in the sense of being famous or well known for something. Yes - having just checked the dictionary definition it does say 'often something negative' so maybe I could have chosen a more suitable word. Although v private DH would think it an ideal choice of phrase