Royal Tunbridge Wells vs Tonbridge .. the tale of two very different property markets

I was talking to one of my landlords from Bidborough the other week, when we were looking over a few properties that he was considering buying  in Royal Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge. As I know towns well, I was able to discuss the two towns in depth with him. We started to notice an interesting pattern in the house prices between the two. Royal Tunbridge Wells has always been a slightly more expensive town to buy in comparison to Tonbridge but depending on what type of property you buy, there are some fascinating differences.

A few weeks ago, we said that the average value of a property in Tonbridge was £395,000, compared to Royal Tunbridge Wells’s of £399,900 (making Royal Tunbridge Wells 1.2% higher). However, when you look deeper, things become quite interesting between the two towns. Terraced houses in Royal Tunbridge Wells are 17% higher than Tonbridge’s (£304,200 to £260,000), detached properties are even higher, 19.1% in Royal Tunbridge Wells (£701,500 compared to £588,600 in Tonbridge). Whilst semi detached houses are only 13.5% higher in Royal Tunbridge Wells (£373,900 to Tonbridge’s £329,33) but flats are only 0.1% cheaper in Royal Tunbridge Wells than Tonbridge’s  (a flat in Tonbridge is £237,300 compared to the average flat in Royal Tunbridge Wells at £237,100).

So, why the big difference when looking at the different types of properties and their relevant prices in each town? Well, after investigating, it transpires that in Royal Tunbridge Wells, there are 118.75% proportionally more flats than Tonbridge (35% of properties in Royal Tunbridge Wells are flats compared to only 16% in Tonbridge). However, on the other side of the coin, Tonbridge has proportionally nearly three quarters more semi detached properties (in fact, Tonbridge must be the land of semis as 44% of property in the town are semi detached houses, compared to our 26% in Royal Tunbridge Wells).  However, both towns have similar numbers of detached and terraced houses.

The average value of a detached house, semi-detached house and terraced house in Royal Tunbridge Wells is considerably more than our neighbour in Tonbridge.  However, because Tonbridge has a higher proportion of the more expensive houses (ie detached and semi-detached) this means the gap, when looking at the overall average is much closer at 1.2%. These differing housing provisions in the two towns just goes to show that you need to know your marketplace and decide which is the right area for your money. If you are an existing landlord or one who is thinking of become one in Royal Tunbridge Wells, don’t hesitate to pop by our offices on Vale Road in Royal Tunbridge Wells or send me an email to david.rogers@martinco.com