St Mawes Index

I realised it was over 10 days since I did this as a provisional list... time to do the checking! A few new to list, one newly under offer, some no longer listed.

1. New to List - Freehold shop - £200,000 (TR2 5DW)
   
2. FF Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - £235,000 & £230,000, £225,000, £225,000 (TR2 5BN)
   
3. Conversion Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £325,000, £275,000 (TR2 5BN)
   
4. New to List - House - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - £299,950 (TR2 5DL)
   
5. New to List - Detached Bungalow - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - OIEO £300,000 (TR2 5UN) looks like a change of agents as this one is Newly No longer listed - Detached Bungalow - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - OIEO £300,000 - (TR2 5UN)
   
6. Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - OIRO £300,000 (TR2 5DN)
7. Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - OIEO £305,000 (TR2 5AG)
8. Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom - £315,000 (TR2 5AG)
9. No longer listed - Detached Bungalow - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - Asking price of £319,950
   
10. Mid Terrace? - 3 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £330,000 (TR2 5DR)
11. Sold STC - Detached Bungalow - 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms - £355,000 (TR2 5BX)
    
12. Under Offer - Terraced Cottage - 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms - £355,000 - Still listed but price now marked as £375,000 - did I really get this wrong before? Sorry if I did! (TR2 5DJ)
    
13. Under Offer - Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 2 bathroom - Asking price of £395,000 (TR2 5DN)
14. Newly Sold STCM - Detached Bungalow - 3 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 2 bathrooms - Asking price of £395,000 (TR2 5BU)
    
15. Semi-detached Cottage - 3 bedrooms OIEO £395,000 (TR2 5BH)
16. Detached Barn - 1 bedroom, 1 reception rooms, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £399,950 (TR2 5BY)
17. Still Under Offer! - Bungalow - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £420,000 (TR2 5BU)
18. End of Terrace - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception rooms, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £425,000 (TR2 5DN)
19. Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 2 bathroom - Guide price of £440,000 (TR2 5DW)
20. No longer listed - Sold STC - Semi - 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms - OIEO £450,000
    
21. Detached Cottage (+ 1 bed Annexe) - 4 bedrooms - Guide price of £495,000 - no postcode (TR2 5AD)
22. No longer listed - Under Offer - Detached Bungalow - 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom - £500,000
23. Still Under Offer! - FF apartment - 4 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 2 bathrooms - Asking price of £525,000 (TR2 5AY)
24. Detached Bungalow - 2 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - £549,950 (TR2 5BD)
25. End of Terrace - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception rooms, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £550,000 - Gibraltar Terrace - no postcode
    
26. GF Apartment - 3 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £650,000 clearly the other half of this one £525,000 (TR2 5AY)
27. Newly No Longer Listed - Detached House (+ 2/3 bed Annexe) - 4/5 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - £659,000 - no postcode Newton Road / Upper Castle Road?
    
28. New to list - Mid-terrace? - 3 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - OIEO £695,000 (TR2 5DR)
29. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms - £695,000 (TR2 5AY)
30. Detached Bungalow - 4 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - Guide price £695,000 (TR2 5AY)
31. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms, 4 bathrooms - Asking price of OIRO £745,000 (TR2 5AY)
32. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - Asking price of £795,000 (TR2 5BJ) or (TR2 5BL)
33. Detached House* - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - Asking price of £925,000 (b,c,d,e) (TR2 5BZ)
34. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - Asking price of £1,250,000 (TR2 5BB)
    
35. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - Guide Price of £1,500,000, £1,250,000 (TR2 5AR)
36. Detached Bungalow - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - POA Back to Asking price of £1,450,000 (TR2 5AR)
37. Under Offer - Detached House - 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms - £1,750,000 - (TR2 5AR)
38. Sold STC - Detached House - 6 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms - £1,750,000 (TR2 5AR)

Sold prices
I've listed the postcodes in their order of appearance in the for sale list.

• TR2 5BN
• 3, Sea View Road, Freehold (Semi), £448,000 on 3 Oct, 2006
• 3, Sea View Road, Freehold (Semi), £238,000 on 2 May, 2003
• TR2 5UJ
• Beach Hall, Flat 2, Leasehold (Flat), £174,000 on 26 June, 2006
• Beach Hall, Flat 15, Leasehold (Flat), £247,150 on 7 Feb, 2006
• Beach Hall, Flat 9, Leasehold (Flat), £250,000 on 13 Dec, 2005
• Beach Hall, Flat 16, Leasehold (Flat), £249,500 on 30 Nov, 2005
• Beach Hall, Flat 3, Leasehold (Flat), £150,000 on 26 June, 2004
• Beach Hall, Flat 16, Leasehold (Flat), £205,000 on 26 June, 2004
• Beach Hall, Flat 2, Leasehold (Flat), £152,000 on 23 Apr, 2004
• TR2 5DN
  • 12 Commercial Road, Freehold (Terraced), £420,000 on 26 Oct, 2007
  • Flat 3, Helm, Wentworth House, Commercial Road, Leasehold (Flat), £235,000 on 19 Jun, 2007
  • 7 Commercial Road, Freehold (Terraced), Sold for £225,000 on 17 Apr, 2007
  • Flat 2 Bank House, Commercial Road, Leasehold (Flat), £120,000 on 23 Jan, 2007
  • Flat 4 Compass Wentworth House, Commercial Road, Leasehold (Flat), £250,000 on 05 Jan, 2007
• TR2 5UN - most recent sale was in 2001
  
• TR2 5AG
  • Flat 3 Manor Court, The Square, Leasehold (Flat), £285,000 on 28 Sep, 2007
  • Flat 2 Manor Court, The Square, Leasehold (Flat), £245,000 on 26 Jan, 2006
• TR2 5DR
  • Upper Warren Lower Castle Road, Freehold (Terraced), £610,000 on 21 Dec, 2006
  • 21 Lower Castle Road, Freehold (Semi-Detached), £912,500 on 21 Jul, 2006
  • 12 Lower Castle Road, Freehold (Semi-Detached), £785,000 on 10 Oct, 2005
  • The Studio Lower Castle Road, Freehold (Semi-Detached), £357,500 on 29 Sep, 2005
• TR2 5BX
  • 9, Newton Park, Freehold (Detached), £335,000 on 24 Aug, 2007
  • 8, Newton Park, Freehold (Detached), £315,000 on 8 Aug, 2007
• TR2 5DJ
  • Cove Cottage The Square, Freehold (Detached), £359,950 on 05 Jul, 2007
  • 3 Apartment The Watch House, The Square, Leasehold (Flat), £229,950 on 30 Oct, 2006
  • 2 Apartment 2, The Square, Leasehold (Flat), £370,000 on 07 Sep, 2006
• TR2 5BU
  • Cairn Ryan Trelawney Road, Freehold (Detached), £495,000 on 19 Oct, 2007
  • Summers View Trelawney Road, Freehold (Detached), £395,000 on 14 Oct, 2005
• TR2 5BH
  • 9 Chapel Terrace, Freehold (Detached), £570,000 on 15 Dec, 2006
  • 1 Chapel Terrace, Freehold (Semi-Detached), £307,500 on 26 May, 2006
• TR2 5BY
  • Newton Cottage, Upper Castle Road, Freehold (Detached), £250,000 on 19 May, 2004
    
• TR2 5DW
  • Upper Boyne, Marine Parade, Freehold (Terraced), £205,000 on 19 Oct, 2007
  • 12 Marine Parade, Freehold (Terraced), £580,000 on 19 Oct, 2007
    
  • 15 Lower Fountain House, Marine Parade, Leasehold (Flat), £295,000 on 29 Sep, 2006
    
  • 21 Marine Parade, Freehold (Terraced), £85,000 on 06 Apr, 2006
    
  • Roseland House, Marine Parade, Freehold (Semi-Detached), £435,000 on 24 Feb, 2006
• TR2 5AD - no results
  
• TR2 5AY
  • Trelowen Polvarth Road, Freehold (Detached), £495,000 on 24 May, 2007
    
  • Middle Botreaux Polvarth Road, Leasehold (Detached), £575,000 on 14 Nov, 2006
  • The Croft Polvarth Road, Freehold (Detached), £485,000 on 26 Apr, 2006
• TR2 5BD
  • 4 Waterloo Close, Freehold (Detached), £615,000 on 28 Sep, 2006
  • 12 Waterloo Close, Freehold (Detached), £340,000 on 31 Mar, 2005
• TR2 5BJ
  • Trevennen West Grove Hill, Freehold (Semi-Detached), £550,000 on 31 Jan, 2007
• TR2 5BL
  • 4 The Rope Walk, Freehold (Detached), £325,000 on 15 Aug, 2005
• TR2 5BZ
  • Clover Hill Upper Castle Road, Freehold (Detached), £1,330,000 on 23 Aug, 2007
    Merry Mead Upper Castle Road, Freehold (Detached), £1,476,000 on 29 Jun, 2007
• TR2 5BB
  • 6 Nilgiris Carrick Way, Freehold (Semi-Detached), £785,000 on 18 Sep, 2007
  • 6 Nilgiris Carrick Way, Freehold (Semi-Detached), £700,000 on 19 Jan, 2007
• TR2 5AR
  • Woodpeckers Freshwater Lane, Freehold (Detached), £740,000 on 31 Oct, 2007
  • Roscarrick House Freshwater Lane, Freehold (Detached), £1,115,000 on 01 Aug, 2007

Property Snake

"Cornish Coast" taken in 1993

I've just read that in the UK only two English counties are in the "top 10" list of those with the highest house price inflation between 1997 and 2007 - and the top one is Cornwall. In the last 10 years prices have risen by 266%. To return to 1997 levels house prices would need to fall by about 65% (assuming 30% "real" inflation) - and assuming that the current price hasn't been hugely optimistic in the first place, of course, which in some cases it clearly has - there are stories of people adding on 10% to what would have been a "fair" market price just to give themselves "room for manoeuvre" - very dangerous in such price sensitive times! Houses go stale and that makes them even harder to sell.

There is a house price tracker called propertysnake which attempts to chart houses that are having to reduce their prices. I like this site as it shows me which houses are beginning to be priced more realistically. Its just a shame that some websites have complained about it using photos and linking to them. The biggest drops on there are of the order of 30%. However even there this site tells the lie to the idea that houses were selling easily in the first 6 months of 2007 - loads have been on the market for 9 months or more - and these are just the ones that haven't either directly or indirectly "reset" their count - for instance by changing agent.

Review of houses from November 15th's Cornishman

I thought I'd check out some of the properties that were on the market 2 months ago to see how many of them have sold.

Featured on the front cover were:

• Penzance £695,000 Miller Countrywide - still on - no change in price or agent
• St Ives £450,000 Miller and Son - still on - no change in price or agent
• Hayle £550,000 Lillicrap Chilcott - still on - no change in price or agent
• St Just £475,000 Savills - still on - no change in price or agent

These may also be on with other agents but they are all still on with the ones advertising them back in November.

Page 2's featured property:

• Penzance £330,000 NCT - still on - no change in price or agent

Now I'll look at a few from each advertiser that week.

Bradleys

• Carbis Bay - £545,000 - still on - no change in price
• New build "eco-houses" St. Ives - £400,000 - now £375,000

Stratton Creber

• Goldsithney - £192,500 - under offer - PZ/30/10/2007
• Carnyorth, St Just - £249,950 - still on - no change in price - PZ/06/07/07
• Brittons Hill, Penzance - OIEO £269,950 - still on - no change in price - PZ/17/11/07 (this one may disprove my theory that these are date references as the paper is 15/11/07)
• Higher Sheffield, Paul, Penzance - £374,950 - still on - no change in price - PZ/23/07/07

Miller & Son - several of these were marked as reduced so I'll check all of them:

• Ludgvan - £220,000 - ?
• Rosudeon - £239,950 - SOLD
• Germoe - £292,500 - still on - no change in price
• Penzance - £225,000 - now £220,000
• Marazion - £297,950 - maybe the same one
• Praa Sands - £199,995 - ?
• Penzance - £157,500 - ?

I find it extremely hard to find houses on the Miller & Son site so the ones marked "?" may still be there.

Your Move

Marked reduced in November:

• Ayr Lane, St Ives - £375,000 - now £360,000
• Wheal Speed, Carbis Bay - £249,950 - still on - no change in price

Not marked reduced:

• Trewellard, Nr Pendeen - £310,000 - still on - no change in price
• Godolphin Mill - £345,000 - still on - no change in price despite "Our client is keen to start another project, therefore we have priced for an immediate sale..." Looking on rightmove its on with three agents: Your Move, P A Wilkins, Stratton Creber - all the photos show it as a house in the middle of an unmade garden - it would be more attractive with at least some turf!

P.A. Wilkins (their own website seems very limited so I've gone via rightmove)

• Newlyn - £299,500 - still on - no change in price
• Trewellard - £225,000 - still on - no change in price
• Nr. Penzance = Buryas Bridge - £450,000 - still on - no change in price

Miller Countrywide

Three shown large:

• Porthcurno - £525,000 - down to £495,000
• Tehidy Park - £299,950 - down to £289,950
• West Penwith - £550,000 - ?

Marshall's

• Paul - £750,000 - still on - no change in price
• Mousehole - £625,000 - ?
• Trevaylor - £375,000 - Sold STC
• Mousehole - £285,000 - still on - no change in price

Whitlocks

• Penzance - £269,950 - in paper described as substantially reduced for quick sale - still on - no change in price
• Rosudgeon - £430,000 - ?

PRH

• Crowlas - £389,950 - still on - no change in price

These were amongst those advertised as offering to pay £500 per month towards the mortgage costs for the 1st 12 months (NB that's just offering £6,000 off and not even all at once or in a way that reduces stamp duty...)

• Kelynack, St Just - £450,000 - still on - no change in price
• Morwah - £225,00 - still on - no change in price
• Newlyn - £249,950 - down to £229,000
• Paul - £230,000 - still on - no change in price

Berwick & Berwick

• Carbis Bay - £285,000 - still on - no change in price
• Ventonleague - £299,950 - ?

Cross Estates

• Lelant - £450,000 - still on - no change in price
• Carbis Bay - £369,950 - still on - no change in price

NCT

• St Buryan - £199,950 - still on - no change in price
• Outskirts of Marazion - £295,000 - still on - no change in price

Several that I decided to look for I couldn't find, its unlikely these were sold as most agents would still have them marked as sold to encourage people to put their properties on with them. But some of them may. Some may still be there but not have turned up when I looked for them. Others may have changed agent.

Only 2 that I found were marked as sold. 36 were to be found and not yet sold. I've no idea how many would be expected to have sold over the two months that include Christmas.

Yet another St. Mawes Update

"St Mawes" by James Logan

Since I made the first list of properties for sale in St Mawes (22 Nov 07) there have been very few changes to it. Here is the current list. At last something is under offer! I thought I'd also extend the list to include anything that is marked as under offer on rightmove or primelocation.

1. FF Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - £235,000 & £230,000, £225,000, £225,000
2. Conversion Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £325,000, £275,000
   
3. Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - OIRO £300,000
   
4. Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - OIEO £305,000
5. Detached Bungalow - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - Asking price of £319,950
6. Mid Terrace? - 3 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £330,000
7. New to list - no idea how old this one is - Sold STC - Detached Bungalow - 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms - £355,000
8. New to list - no idea how old this one is - Under Offer - Terraced Cottage - 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms - £355,000
   
9. Under Offer - Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 2 bathroom - Asking price of £395,000
10. Detached Bungalow - 3 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 2 bathrooms - Asking price of £395,000
11. Semi-detached Cottage - 3 bedrooms OIEO £395,000
    
12. Detached Barn - 1 bedroom, 1 reception rooms, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £399,950
13. Bungalow - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £420,000
    
14. End of Terrace - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception rooms, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £425,000
    
15. Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 2 bathroom - Guide price of £440,000
    
16. New to list - no idea how old this one is - Sold STC - Semi - 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms - £450,000
    
17. Detached Cottage (+ 1 bed Annexe) - 4 bedrooms - Guide price of £495,000
18. New to list - no idea how old this one is - Under Offer - Detached Bungalow - 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom - £500,000
19. FF apartment - 4 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 2 bathrooms - Asking price of £525,000
20. Detached Bungalow - 2 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - £549,950
    
21. End of Terrace - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception rooms, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £550,000
    
22. GF Apartment - 3 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £650,000
    
23. Detached House (+ Annexe) - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - Asking price of £659,000
24. New to list - Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms - £695,000
25. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - Guide price £695,000
    
26. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms, 4 bathrooms - Asking price of £745,000
27. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - Asking price of £795,000
28. Detached House* - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - Asking price of £925,000 (b,c,d)
29. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 4 bathrooms - Asking price of £925,000
    
30. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - Asking price of £1,250,000
31. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - Guide Price of £1,500,000, £1,250,000
32. Detached Bungalow - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - Asking price of £1,450,000
33. New to list - no idea how old this one is - Under Offer - Detached House - 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms - £1,750,000
34. New to list - no idea how old this one is - Sold STC - Detached House - 6 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms - £1,750,000

St. Mawes Update

"St Mawes" by Ant Smith

A quick check on the properties I've already listed in St. Mawes - one new price reduction and a few of new places to add; nothing seems to have sold:

1. New price reduction: FF Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - £235,000 & £230,000, £225,000, £225,000
2. Conversion Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £325,000, £275,000
   
3. Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - OIRO £300,000
   
4. Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - OIEO £305,000
5. Detached Bungalow - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - Asking price of £319,950
6. Mid Terrace? - 3 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £330,000
7. New Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 2 bathroom - Asking price of £395,000
8. Detached Bungalow - 3 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 2 bathrooms - Asking price of £395,000
9. Semi-detached Cottage - 3 bedrooms OIEO £395,000
   
10. Detached Barn - 1 bedroom, 1 reception rooms, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £399,950
11. Bungalow - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £420,000
    
12. End of Terrace - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception rooms, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £425,000
    
13. New on this list: Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 2 bathroom - Guide price of £440,000
    
14. Detached Cottage (+ 1 bed Annexe) - 4 bedrooms - Guide price of £495,000
15. FF apartment - 4 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 2 bathrooms - Asking price of £525,000
16. New on this list: Detached Bungalow - 2 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - £549,950
    
17. End of Terrace - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception rooms, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £550,000
    
18. GF Apartment - 3 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £650,000
    
19. Detached House (+ Annexe) - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - Asking price of £659,000
20. New on this list: Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - Guide price £695,000
    
21. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms, 4 bathrooms - Asking price of £745,000
22. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - Asking price of £795,000
23. Detached House* - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - Asking price of £925,000 (b,c,d)
24. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 4 bathrooms - Asking price of £925,000
    
25. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - Asking price of £1,250,000
26. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - Guide Price of £1,500,000, £1,250,000
27. Detached Bungalow - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - Asking price of £1,450,000

An acre or two in the Penwith peninsula

"Cape Cornwall in November" by polandeze

• Newmill, Penzance - 4 bedrooms,2 reception rooms, 1 bathroom, 2.2 acres - Guide Price of £595,000
  
  Looks well-kept, though the stables aren't shown - they are often the least attractive aspect of such places! There is a static caravan too - not so promising after all... maybe it could be replaced by a chalet or something more pleasing?


• Worvas Farm, ST IVES - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 1 bathroom, 5 acres - Guide Price of £495,500
  
  A smallholding - described by the agent, thus:
  

  There is stabling for horses, small piggery, vegetable growing areas, outside WC and a paddock of approx 4.5 acres which as you stroll through reveal beautiful views of the sea and coastline. The cottage has been partially renovated and work is still in progress.

  There is a caravan on site - so that renovation might be very much still in progress.
  
  Shame there are no floorplans. Is the only bathroom downstairs? If so that means a bedroom would have to be sacrificed to put one upstairs.
  
  And I'm wary of places that are only partially renovated having been taken to one by an agent only to discover that it was impossible to stand-up in two of the "bedrooms" - really no more than floored attic space in which they made their children sleep... lets hope this one is better than that!
  
  This might be a place that could have a serious eco-overhaul as its still in need of doing-up.


• Relubbus, Penzance - 4 bedrooms detached house, 4 acres - OIRO £475,000
  


• Nance, Trink, St. Ives - 3 bedroom detached dormer bungalow - 0.5 acre garden plus 2.5 acre meadow - £425,000
  
  The meadow, barn, stables and "secondary garden area" are over the lane from the house. The house itself is "in need of some upgrading and would appeal to those seeking privacy without being isolated".

Update on St. Mawes

mar0176 by Keith JM G

I thought I'd see how the houses I'd listed from St. Mawes three weeks ago are doing. I clicked all the links and they are all still there, nothing seems to have sold and only one price drop from £1.5 to £1.25 million - still not in my price bracket!

Using rightmove's "added in the last fortnight" feature it appears this one is probably new:

• Newton Road, St. Mawes, TR2 Guide Price £495,000 4 bedroom cottage plus 1 bed annexe

These are also not on my previous list:

• Chapel Terrace, St. Mawes, TR2 Offers in Excess of £395,000 3 bedroom cottage
• Trelawney Road, St. Mawes, TR2 £420,000 2 bedroom bungalow
  
• Upper Castle Road, St. Mawes, TR2 5BZ £925,000 4 bedroom house
  

So putting all of this together here is the new master list of property in St. Mawes:

1. FF Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - £235,000, £230,000
2. Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - OIRO £300,000
   
3. Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - OIEO £305,000
4. Detached Bungalow - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - Asking price of £319,950
5. New conversion Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £325,000 (Down to £275,000 - Dec 15 2007)
   
6. Mid Terrace? - 3 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £330,000
7. Detached Bungalow - 3 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 2 bathrooms - Asking price of £395,000
8. Semi-detached Cottage - 3 bedrooms OIEO £395,000
   
9. New Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 2 bathroom - Asking price of £395,000
10. Detached Barn - 1 bedroom, 1 reception rooms, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £399,950
11. Bungalow - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £420,000
    
12. End of Terrace - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception rooms, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £425,000
    
13. Detached Cottage (+ 1 bed Annexe) - 4 bedrooms Guide Price £495,000
14. FF apartment - 4 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 2 bathrooms - Asking price of £525,000
15. End of Terrace - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception rooms, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £550,000
    
16. GF Apartment - 3 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £650,000
    
17. Detached House (+ Annexe) - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - Asking price of £659,000
18. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms, 4 bathrooms - Asking price of £745,000
19. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - Asking price of £795,000
20. Detached House* - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - Asking price of £925,000 (b,c,d)
21. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 4 bathrooms - Asking price of £925,000
    
22. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - Asking price of £1,250,000
23. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - Guide Price of £1,250,000 (Down from £1,500,000 in previous posting)
24. Detached Bungalow - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - Asking price of £1,450,000

St. Agnes

2006-10-29 Chapel Porth 41 by kernowseb

St. Agnes is described thus by one of the estate agents, Miller Countrywide:

St Agnes is a very popular vibrant coastal village situated on Cornwall’s scenic north coast with good local facilities including a range of interesting shops, cafes, restaurants, public houses and hotels open all year round. The village is an old fishing and mining community, a beautiful sandy beach at Chapel Porth and a second beach at Trevaunance Cove, both of which are popular with surfers.

I'd considered St. Agnes before but I'm distinctly worried by the degree of old mine workings there - I don't want a house that collapses into an old tunnel. However in looking for possible eco-houses I've found this one which is a new build in St. Agnes:

West Polberro, 3 bedroom detached, Guide Price £475,000 (on primelocation its given as OIEO)

This house does pretty well on the eco front:

• Use of local construction materials - e.g. stone recovered from the site
• Solar panels pre-heat the thermal store for hot water and underfloor heating
• Rainwater is used to flush the loos and for the washing machine
• Heat recovery stops loss of heat from ventilation fans

Less impressive:

• Space for an American style fridge-freezer - I've never soon one of these that is efficient!
  
• The third bedroom is tiny. And the second isn't large.
  
• Only double, not triple glazing (assumption based on not being mentioned as triple and all new windows must be double these days)
• No garage and no mention of off-road parking.
• Small gardens with little growing space and no mention of rainwater collection for watering of garden plants.
• No green house.
  
• No mention of systems to cool the house - it may be sufficiently well-insulated that it won't get too hot in the summer but without a rating being given that's hard to judge
  

There is nothing in the details to show how this building measures up on the new Energy Performance ratings which is a shame as I'd like to know just how much better it is than the average house. Especially as I regard this one as being expensive for a 2/3 bedroom house. It will need to save a great deal of money to make it worth the mark-up from a purely economic point of view. Though its location might make up for that - it seems to have lovely views.

However the biggest strike against it for us is that it seems to have rather small gardens - not consistent with the grow your own vegetables life style that I see as going with an eco-house. I've not seen them but when I've asked the agent I just got yet another pdf of the brochure and the developer has yet to reply.

Some of the other houses currently available in St. Agnes:

• Wheal Kitty, 5 bedroom detached, Two annexes Guide Price £795,000 This one seems to have gone now. 31 dec 07
• 4 bedroom house OIRO £725,000 - very close to a beach
• Wheal Friendly, 3 bedroom cottage, £600,000 - this one has its own engine house!
• 3 bedrooms detached bungalow with land (3 acres) Guide Price of £450,000
• Middlegates, 3 bed detached bungalow Asking price of £310,000 This one seems to have gone now. 31 dec 07
  

Acres

storm brewing by tricky

Encouraged by a friend one of the things I've been wondering about is building an earthship or other type of eco-house. Maybe a whole earthship village. Of course it might be rather hard to get planning permission in any of the places I've selected below but at least they all have land:

1. Roseland Peninsula, Close to Caerhays, 6 acres (+ 6 bed house) - OIEO £800,000
2. Callestick, Truro 5.75 acres (+ 7 bed house) - OIEO £795,000
3. Fox Park, Bodmin, 12 acres (+ house + 2 holiday houses)
   
reviewed already - £795,000
4. St Ive, Nr Liskeard, 20 acres (+ 4 bed house and guest cottage in need of refurbishment) - £775,000
5. Old Mill, St.Wenn, 7 acres (+ 5 bed house and l bed lodge) - £760,000 - mentioned earlier today
6. St Keverne, Helston, 25 acres (+ agricultural buildings with planning consent for redevelopment) - OIEO £750,000
7. Bush, Bude, 4.5 acres (+ 5/6 bed house and stables) - £699,950
8. St Martin-by-Looe, 4.75 acres (+ 6 bed house) - £695,000
9. Sancreed, 11 acres (+ 3 bed house) - OIEO £695,000

Houses which break the chain

the weakest link by Darwin Bell

With the housing market currently having the jitters houses which say things like "No forward chain" are more attractive since that means what chain there is will be less likely to disintegrate.

Most of the ones I'm going to list will come from primelocation as it allows one to do key

Here are some that make this promise:

1. Old Mill, St.Wenn - £760,000
   
   Set in 7 acres this is a house with 5 bedrooms, 3 receptions and a long kitchen/breakfast room too.
   
   It has a small lake and beside a 1 bed lodge. The image that has most appeal is of the lake with a small boat on a jetty - how romantic!
   
   But what worries me most is the claim that:
   

   Great attention has been paid to retaining "olde worlde" effects wherever possible

   
   Maybe that just means beams but could be a way of excusing all sorts of things - although there are 10 photos only two are of the house's interior which doesn't bode well.
   
   Maybe I can live in the wooden lodge.
   


2. Detached Grade II Listed Farmhouse with Holiday Cottage, Sticker - £595,000 (Link not working - 13/12/07) 5 bedrooms, 1 reception, kitchen/breakfast room.
   

   Two further traditional stone barns, one with outline planning to convert into a second holiday let and the other with potential.

   Does that mean potentially another holiday cottage or just that you could do something with it?
   


3. Jacobstow, Bude, Cornwall - 5 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - £475,000
   Its odd that this is described as being 5 beds etc. as it really is two separate properties (with separate council tax bands) side by side. One with 3 bedrooms and the other with two.
   The one that has been used as a holiday cottage looks lovely the other seems dark and maybe rather low ceilinged - though I've not seen it so don't know.
   

Houses being sold differently

"House of Cards" by Caro's Lines

Broadening my search beyond rightmove, primelocation and The Cornishman.

Here are some houses in Cornwall on HouseWeb

• Grade II listed 4 bed house + 2 bed annexe, St. Ewe, St. Austell - asking price of £750,000
  
  House: 6 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3 acres
  Annexe: 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
  
  I like the fact that this is less than 6 miles from the Eden project.


• Troutfarm, near St Ives - asking price of £750,000
  4 Bed house, 3 bathrooms
  big outbuildings, 9.5 acres
  and lots of ponds for the fish (it says "previously used commercially" so no need to be a fish farmer to buy this place)


• 17th Century Village House with Barn Conversion Annexe, Venterdon, Callington - asking price of £725,000
  4 Bed House, 3.5 Baths
  3 Bed Annexe, 2 baths
  Garaging for 4 cars /workshop
  Parking


• Bungalow with loft rooms, Bude - asking price of £349,950
  
  5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, views
  
  What drew my eye specifically was this:
  

  THE PROPERTY HAS BEEN LET IN THE PAST VIA FARM & COTTAGE HOLIDAYS (www.farmcott.co.uk). IT IS A PARTICULARLY LUCRATIVE INVESTMENT WITH BOOKINGS HISTORICALLY IN EXCESS OF 40 WEEKS PER YEAR.

  So rather a useful second house?

Looking in the Papers - The Cornishman

Although searching for property has become easier with the web I still like to look in the property section of local papers. To get The Cornishman delivered for 3 months ring (01872) 247521. It covers Penzance, St Just, St Ives, Hayle.

There are several reasons I like this -

• One is seeing all the bad copy - I find it amazing that so many estate agents don't proof read their copy properly and put in poorly worded, expensive, adverts week after week - but then maybe they do it on purpose to get my attention... though really more information would be better!
  
• Another is seeing things side-by-side and in areas that might not have come up on my searches.
• And of course there is the sheer hardcopy aspect. With a paper copy I can make a scrapbook or collage together an "ideal" dream house.

So first here are some of the mistakes of the week:

• (This Is A General View of The Building And Does Not Necessarily Show The Apartment In Question) - well does it or doesn't it? Probably not, so why show me it then... hmm...)
• A delightful conversion of an old cottage - looks like its a conversion of a cottage into a cottage...
• SPECIAL PRICE FOR 1ST DECEMBER ONLY - does anyone fall for that? If they are this desperate to sell and didn't get a buyer on the 1st, the seller will probably take even less on the 2nd...
• A viewing of this property is strongly recommended to fully appreciate - well I wasn't going to buy without looking first... does this mean they couldn't take decent photographs? Maybe they ought to go back when the sun is out and try again...
• To be sold by Auction.... on Thursday 1 November 2007 - obviously it didn't sell... so why not update the ad before putting it back in three weeks later?

Now on to actual properties that look interesting:

1. Near St. Just - Converted chapel - 3 bedrooms, 2 receptions, 2 bathrooms - For Auction 7th December 2007 - GP £200,000 (link not working - 13/12/07) (no GP in paper, this is from web)
2. St Ives - Semi - 3 bedrooms - 100ft rear garden - OIRO £250,000
   
3. Penzance - 4 bedrooms, 1 reception - Asking price of £325,000
   
4. Goldsithney, Penzance - Single storey detached barn & 1 bed annexe - 4 bedrooms, 2 receptions, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £515,000
5. Porkellis, Helston - Detached Farmhouse - 3 bedrooms, 2 receptions, 1 bathroom, 4 granite barns, 15 acres - Asking price of £550,000

Snapshot of property - St.Ives Houses

1. Beach Cafe, 2. 2006-01-25 Godrevy breaks 13, 3. The view across St Ives Bay to Hayle, 4. St Ives at night, 5. Lighthouse, Godrevy beach, 6. St Ives, 7. StIves_2043L, 8. StIves_Z9152L, 9. StIves_Z9219XL, 10. Heading to harbour, 11. StIves_Z9340L, 12. St Ives Boats, 13. StIves_4107L

There are over 100 properties available in St. Ives via rightmove, and I am in any case wondering about properties near but not necessarily in the town. So unlike the exhaustive posting I did for St. Mawes this will be just a few that have caught my eye.

1. Detached House, Lelant - 4 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 2 bathrooms - Asking price of £399,950 (noticed that its marked SSTC - 31 dec 07)
   
2. 3 New Eco-Semi-Detached House, Tom's Yard, Consols - 3 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - Asking price of £400,000, £400,000, £400,000, £400,000
3. Detached House, Lelant - 4 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - OIEO £650,000
4. Detached House, Church Lane, Lelant - 4 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - OIEO £850,000
5. Detached House, Carbis Bay - 3 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 2 bathrooms - OIEO £850,000 (noticed that its marked SSTC - 31 dec 07)

Snapshot of property - St. Mawes

1. IMG_4588, 2. St.Anthony's Head, Cornwall, 3. IMGP2094, 4. 2007-08-11 Mylor - Helford sail 2 04, 5. Porthbeor Beach 2, Roseland, Cornwall, 6. Pendennis Castle, 7. IMGP2110, 8. St Mawes, 9. DSC_0073.JPG, 10. Petrol pump, 11. St. Mawes Castle, Falmouth, 12. DSC_0071.JPG, 13. St Mawes Cornwall

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I've done a quick scan of the properties for sale today in St. Mawes via primelocation and rightmove. I've attempted to present the info in uniform manner but may have got it wrong - check the links to find out what the agents have actually said!

1. FF Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - £235,000, £230,000
2. Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - OIRO £300,000
   
3. Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - OIEO £305,000
4. Detached Bungalow - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - Asking price of £319,950
5. New conversion Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £325,000
6. Mid Terrace? - 3 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £330,000
7. Detached Bungalow - 3 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 2 bathrooms - Asking price of £395,000
8. New Apartment - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 2 bathroom - Asking price of £395,000
9. Detached Barn - 1 bedroom, 1 reception rooms, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £399,950
   
10. End of Terrace - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception rooms, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £425,000
    
11. FF apartment - 4 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 2 bathrooms - Asking price of £525,000
12. End of Terrace - 2 bedrooms, 1 reception rooms, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £550,000
    
13. GF Apartment - 3 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms, 1 bathroom - Asking price of £650,000
    
14. Detached House (+ Annexe) - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - Asking price of £659,000
15. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms, 4 bathrooms - Asking price of £745,000
16. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - Asking price of £795,000
17. Detached House* - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - Asking price of £925,000 (b,c,d)
18. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - Asking price of £1,250,000
19. Detached Bungalow - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms - Asking price of £1,450,000
20. Detached House - 4 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 2 bathrooms - Guide Price of £1,500,000

Looks like a pricey place to buy in... £230k ish for a flat with a kitchen you can't even turn around in?

Christmas Special!

"St Mawes harbour" by juniorbonnerphotography

Maybe houses aren't shifting very fast even in St. Mawes.

A bunglaow is currently on at £1.45 million and they are encouraging people to offer with this suggestion:

Christmas Special! Try an offer!! A price discount may be considered for those who can exchange and complete by 31st December 2007.

Though I bet they are still hoping for well over a million!