House prices bounce back after 'plunge'

HOUSE prices have bounced back in a county where there were fears a holiday home crackdown had led to a “plunge” in home values.

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Cyngor Gwynedd has been one of the most pro-active Welsh councils in implementing measures aimed at controlling the number of second homes.

They have a second home council tax premium of 150% and were the first council to introduce Article 4 - a measure which means home owners need to apply for planning permission to change their home from residential to holiday let or second home use.

The council says the measures are designed to protect communities from an over-saturation of holiday homes in hotspot areas and enable more locals to buy property in the area.

They said it implemented additional measures because around two-thirds of the county's population was priced out of the housing market, especially in areas with large numbers of holiday homes