Battle of the Districts – Peak versus Lake
They are both National Parks, both offer jaw-dropping landscapes and have both been in the press recently – but what for? The Lake District and the Peak District are proving to be stand-out property stars. As well as attractive year-on-year house price growth, both national parks are stealing the holiday let headlines.
Viewber takes a look at the property markets in the Lake District and the Peak District and finds the prospects just as attractive as the stunning scenery.
Peak District
About the area: the Peak District was the first of Britain’s National Parks and at 555 square miles, it encompasses five counties – Derbyshire, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. Walkers are drawn to the area for its attractive trails and picture-postcard scenery, especially as it’s the start point for the Pennine Way and also part of the trans-Pennine trail. Rivers, caves, bike trails and hills also wait to be explored – neatly divided by the area’s famous dry stone walls. As well as more than 13 million visitors each year, the Peak District is home to some 38,000 permanent residents
Property prices: using the latest data from Rightmove, properties in the Peak District had an overall average price of £287,824 over the last year. This value was 6% up on the previous year and 14% up on the 2020 peak of £252,353. In the last year, terraced properties sold for an average price of £196,800; detached properties sold for an average of £477,775 and semi-detached properties fetched £272,871.
Rental stats: according to the latest data from home.co.uk, these are the average ‘per month’ rents in four of the Peak District’s most popular towns: Bakewell £1,106; Buxton £866; Matlock £1,270 and Ashbourne £794.
Holiday let prospects: when it comes holiday lets, the Peak District leads the pack. Recent analysis by AirDNA showed the holiday hotspot has seen the biggest growth in short-term rental listings than any other UK area. Between July 2019 and July 2022, the number of short-let properties listed increased 37% – rising from 3,295 to 4,523.
A separate report by Octane Capital concurred, finding the Peak District was one of the most in-demand areas for holiday rentals. As a result, it had noted a 25.2% rise in the number of holiday lets appearing on the market between Q1 of 2021 and Q1 of 2022.
The Peak District also performed strongly in the Sykes Holiday Letting Outlook Report 2023. In its top 10 places for the best holiday let return-on-investment, the Peak District took sixth spot. Sykes’s figures put the area’s average house price at £285,734, year-on-year house price growth at 5% and an annual revenue of £41,752 attached to a four-bedroom holiday let, revealing the potential for attractive yields.
Lake District
About the area: the Lake District is a region in Cumbria, which is also home to the country’s largest National Park. Visitors flock to the area to climb Scafell Pike – one of 150 high peaks – and explore 16 lakes. The landscape is nothing short of breath taking, comprising six national nature reserves, 100 Sites of Special Scientific Interest and 50 dales. As well as drawing holiday makers, the Lake District National Park is the permanent place of residence for more than 40,000 people, spread between towns, villages, and hamlets.
Property prices: according to the latest sold prices from Rightmove, properties in Lake District had an overall average price of £292,483 over the last year. This value was 6% up on the previous year and 13% up on the 2020 peak of £258,813. In the last year, terraced properties sold for an average price of £209,473; detached properties sold for an average of £476,556 and semi-detached properties fetched £271,083.
Rental stats: according to the latest data from home.co.uk, Cumbria has an average per calendar month rent of £812.
Holiday let prospects: the appeal of the Lake District is reflected in the same Octane Capital research. The analysts found it has enjoyed the greatest growth in holiday rentals in any area, with the number of holiday let listings surging 33.3% between Q1 of 2021 and Q1 of 2022.
The Lake District also featured prominently in AirDNA’s study. It was seventh of the list of strong performers, seeing its short-term rental listings rise 16% between July 2019 and July 2022 – an increase from 6,917 to 8,185.
When looking at the Sykes Holiday Letting Outlook Report 2023, the Lake District beat the Peak District when analysing return on investment, with the Lake District taking third place. Its team put the area’s average house price at £295,307, with 8% year-on-year house price growth and an average annual revenue on a four-bedroom holiday let at £43,789, making it a hot investment prospect.
If you are involved in property in the Peak District or the Lake District – as a buyer, investor, agent, property manager, auctioneer, holiday let operator or social landlord – Viewber can become your property partner.
We have hundreds of Viewbers in both Districts, able to visit any given property seven days a week. They can accompany viewings, let in trades and lock up after, perform key handovers and greet guests, run open house events, perform welfare and safety checks, inspect properties, view on your behalf and even live video call from any property. Contact us to discover the full range and depth of Viewbers’ services.
