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Bath property 'has gone potty'

Friday, March 12, 2010

Catherine Deshayes

House prices in Bath are the highest in the West Country, fuelled by great architecture, good schools and fierce competition to find the perfect family home.

The property market in Bath has "gone potty", according to Andrew Cronan from Savills estate agency. "We're selling houses from £750,000 to £2 million; it's the strongest it's ever been."

Actor Nicolas Cage, who owned a castle outside Bath, is rumoured to be house hunting, he says, but most of the buyers on his books have young children and appreciate Bath's good schools, culture and architecture. "They're prepared to get on with purchasing," he says.

House prices in Bath are the most expensive in the West Country and have increased by 9.62 per cent since March 2009, according to Zoopla.co.uk The average property costs £295,727, compared with £208,225 in Bristol and £219,508 in Exeter.

Simon Lord, of Winkworths estate agency in Bath, which opened 10 days ago, says buyers in Bath find comfort in the fact that the landscape will still look the same in 200 years.

"It's a Unesco World Heritage city. You've got to accept the fact that change happens very gradually here," he says. "But the contemporary extension of the Holbourne Museum has been given approval - perhaps that will release some confidence among the planners."

www.telegraph.co.uk