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Christmas songs are on the radio, there’s a flurry of activity in the shops and the promise of lots of fun with our loved ones. It is also the season for questions like whether a home is large enough for the whole family or whether, children having flown the nest, it is too large? 

New Year means new beginnings for many and so inevitably the thought of a new home is on many people’s minds. All this means that the lettings market is approaching its traditional busy season.

It’s been an extremely busy month in the lettings market in South Somerset. Let’s briefly examine the local rental market facts and figures, which cover both long- and short-term lets.

There are 823 rental properties currently available with an average rental price of £1,374pcm. There were 273 new rental properties that became available over the last 14 days. 

This month, we are going to take a closer look at Crewkerne and Yeovil’s rental markets.

The first written record of Crewkerne appears in Alfred the Great’s will in 899. He chose to leave it to his youngest son Æthelweard. In the 1086 Domesday survey it is listed as a royal manor. In the late mediaeval period on the back of the textile industry the town became relatively wealthy as is apparent from the fifteenth century Church of St Bartholomew. In the 18th and 19th centuries the main industry in Crewkerne was cloth making, including webbing, and sails for the Royal Navy.   

In Crewkerne, the average rental price is £968pcm and the median rental price is £800pcm. There are currently 10 rental properties available and 2 new rental properties have become available in the last 14 days. Five of the available properties are two-bedroom properties and are in the £500 - £1000pcm bracket. There is one property in the £300,000 - £400,000 pcm bracket.  

Yeovil was named in a Saxon charter 880 under the name Gifle. Gifle derives from the Celtic river-name gifl which means "forked river". That was an earlier name of the River Yeo.

In Yeovil, there are currently 42 available rental properties with an average rental price of £931 pcm. The median rent is £800. Seventeen rental properties have become available in the last 14 days. 

Twenty-seven of the properties currently available are in the £500 - £1000 pcm bracket, fourteen are in the £1000 - £2000pcm bracket and the other one is the £2000 - £3000 pcm brackets. There are 12 three-bedroom properties available, 11 one-bedroom properties, 2 two-bedroom properties and six four-bedroom properties. 

If you’re looking for further information about the local property market, please feel free to contact us. If you’re thinking of letting or renting property in this area, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can call 01935 277977 or email info@orchardsestates.com.