From Gloucester to Cheddar – the nation’s ‘cheesiest’ property pockets

Thursday, the 4th June, marks National Cheese Day and to celebrate leading lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has looked at the cost of buying across the cheesiest property pockets of the UK market as well as which offer the best rental yields.

Benham and Reeves looked at the average house price, annual growth and rental yields available from Gloucester to Cheddar, Cheshire to Durham, and everywhere in between with a cheese-related name to see which left the sweetest taste for homebuyers, owners and potential landlords.

The figures show that when it comes to the highest average house price, Gloucester tops the cheese charts with properties selling for £269,371. Stilton also ranked highly with property prices in Huntingdonshire going for an average price of £260,863, followed by Stinking Bishop with prices in the Forest of Dean going for £243,237.

Cornish Yarg (£238,059), Cheddar (£232,815), Red Leicester (£231,840) Cheshire (£218,595) and Wensleydale (£215,327) were also home to an average house price upwards of £200,000.

Durham Blue sits at the bottom of the table with an average house price of just £100,095, bad news for homeowners but great news for those looking for an affordable, cheesy property purchase.

When it comes to house price growth Durham homeowners will be even bluer, as it’s the only area in the list to have seen a decline on an annual basis; down -2.11%. However, there is a silver lining as Durham Blue ranks top for the best available rental yields of the bunch at 5.9%.

For the most fermented levels of house price growth, homebuyers should look to Wensleydale. Not only is it one of the more affordable areas, but prices have also increased by 2.9% over the last year.

Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented:

“For the large part, cheese-related pockets of the market should leave a sweet taste in the mouths of their respective homeowners, with the majority sitting around the national average or above and buoyant levels of house price growth occurring across almost all of them.

For the large part, these areas of the market also make for great investments in a buy-to-let, with the yields available exceeding the national average almost across the board.

While the Durham Blue may prove a bit of a stinker for homeowners in the area, it proves the most lucrative where a rental investment is concerned. This demonstrates how market performance differs depending on buyer requirements and how important it is to do your research when looking to buy.”

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