The Welsh coastal town has undergone a property boom thanks to Gavin & Stacey
The coastal town of Barry in Wales has undergone a remarkable transformation, largely credited to the popular TV show Gavin & Stacey. Having returned for an explosive Christmas special last year, the love for the show – and by extension Barry – has only increased, with the Premier Inn on Barry Island even changing its name to What's Occur-Inn.
And the TV phenomenon has not only boosted tourism but also significantly influenced the local property market and community atmosphere. Speaking to Mortgage Introducer, Joanna O’Shea (pictured), of The Mortgage Mum, said that the changes have been as unprecedented as they have been dramatic.
“If you look at the very first episode of Gavin & Stacey when they're at the top of Trinity Street, which is where Gwen and Uncle Bryn live, it's just land,” O’Shea said. “Look again at the 2024 Christmas special and you can see all the houses that have been built there in that time.
Barry has the highest house price growth in the UK
“Over the last 15 years, Barry's been noted in the press a few times due to increase in house prices,” O’Shea said. “What's super interesting is when you look at the house price increases in Barry versus the county of Vale of Glamorgan – and Wales as a whole – the increases are incrementally higher in Barry.”
As an example, over the last 12 months Barry's seen an increase of 5.5% compared to 4.5% in the county and 4% in Wales.
“In the last 10 years, that’s been the trend, – that increases in house price in Barry versus the county and Wales has always been quite noticeably higher,” O’Shea said. “And, in 2019, Barry had the highest house price growth in the whole of Great Britain.”
O’Shea further detailed the socioeconomic boosts accompanying Barry's regeneration, adding that an area which was historically the docks is now the waterfront boasting lots of new businesses all set up by local people.
“There's some older buildings in the waterfront area that have been regenerated and made into coffee shops and restaurants. It's attracted people from further out and also more local people who may have historically bought in Cardiff, but actually now Barry is on the map. [What’s more], tourism is really good, businesses are thriving because of the amount of people that come and visit and it's such a lovely community, everyone is all in it together. I think people come and they see that it actually is really nice."
Rental market surge
And, compared to other parts of the country where rental yields are causing the buy-to-let market to wane, this is another area where Barry is thriving. According to O’Shea, there are a lot of people looking to rent but not a lot of property available to rent, often with many tenants for one rental property.
“This is pushing rental prices up, the rental yield in Barry is great, my landlords aren't selling [like in other areas],” O’Shea said. “I think if you’ve got a property for £180,000 and you're letting it for £1,200, you'd be a bit silly to sell it.”
Once people move to Barry, they tend to stay, working their way up the housing ladder within the town. This in itself has led to a mix of new arrivals, young families, first-time buyers and lifelong residents.
Welcome to Gwen’s house
“The clients I deal with, I don't think there's any that move out with Barry,” O’Shea said. “You will find people come in and they might buy a terraced house, and then they'll move and get a semi-detached and then their goal will be to buy in the West End area (the more affluent part of the town) eventually.”
And while the town is going through an historic boom, people are still humble and thankful for the popularity Gavin & Stacey brought to their doorsteps. So much so that Gwen’s house (Stacy’s mother) is a hotspot for both locals and tourists alike.
“The lady that owns Gwen’s house has always owned it,” O’Shea said. “She lets people in – she also has a little iPad in her window with Gavin & Stacey on. Some of the businesses, Marco’s, for example, where Stacey works – people are queuing at least 10 minutes to get a coffee. And when they filmed, the businesses were amazing. They were opening at 5am – it’s [all just] really heartwarming.”
