Property: 'Crazy' house prices too much for locals in some areas

Signs were put in places including Pistyll in Gwynedd on Saturday saying "no more second homes"

"Absolutely crazy" prices are forcing local people out of the housing market in parts of Wales, say campaigners.

Nefyn Town Council chair Rhys Tudur said prices had "gone through the roof" with residents outbid on one property in Gwynedd that went for more than double its £120,000 asking price.

Events were being held in Pistyll, Morfa Nefyn, Aberdaron and elsewhere on Saturday to highlight the issue.

The first minister has pledged to help local people trying to buy homes.

But Mark Drakeford warned there was no "single bullet solution" to stop local people being priced out of the market.

About 50 people gathered in Pistyll - the first in a series of the events being held on Saturday - with signs put up saying "no more second homes".

Mr Tudur told BBC Radio Cymru the village church was recently sold for £275,000 - "far higher than the asking price" of £120,000.

"The prices are absolutely crazy," he said.

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"It's so sad that you can be raised in a community, to feel love towards that community, and then the door gets slammed shut in your face because the houses are too expensive for you to live there."

Mr Drakeford said the Welsh government was proposing solutions involving taxation and planning rules when asked about the issue while on a visit to north Wales.

He said he hoped the plans would help young people currently unable to stay in their home towns because of property prices.

"It will be some measures to do with the way we tax property sales, there'll be measures to do with planning - rights local authorities will be able to use," he said.

"There will be things we can use to do with land transaction arrangements."

Rhys Tudur said it was "devastating" when people brought up in a community could not afford to live there themselves

"None of these by themselves are a single bullet solution but, if we bring together a range of measures we can use, then we can make a difference in those local housing markets," he added.

Land transaction tax (LTT) is paid by people buying property in Wales and replaced stamp duty land tax.

For sales completed up to 30 June people can buy a home worth up to £250,000 without paying it, after the Welsh government scrapped the bottom rate of 3.5% for property above £180,000.

Any amount above a sale price of more than £250,000 attracts a 5% charge with higher rates for more expensive property.

For sales completed from 1 July, buyers face 3.5% LTT on homes between £180,000 and £250,000 in addition.

Some experts say this has added to the rush to buy in north Wales before those changes come in.

Mr Drakeford said a scheme helping people buy new-build properties had helped.

But he accepted buying older properties was becoming a major problem for many in north Wales.

People took part in a socially distanced protest in Pistyll on Saturday

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the plans were prompted by local people increasingly losing out on homes to people from cities in the Midlands and north-west of England.

The Welsh government's Help to Buy scheme has aided local people in buying new-build properties up to £250,000, as long as they have a 5% deposit.

The government then provides a shared equity loan of up to 20%, to help fund the purchase.

That loan needs to be repaid within 25 years but can be paid back in full or in part at any point within that timescale.

A Welsh government spokesperson said: "We want everyone to have access to high-quality affordable homes, which is why we will build a further 20,000 low-carbon homes across Wales this term.

"A large number of second homes in a local community can have a real impact on that community.

"Wales is the only UK nation to give local authorities powers to charge higher levels of council tax on both long-term empty properties and second homes.

"The decision to apply and increase council tax premiums rests with local authorities.

"We've also increased the higher rate of Land Transaction Tax, which applies when people buy an additional property.

"We are looking at what further interventions are available and how our partners can use existing powers."