August might be a month packed with some days out, maybe a holiday and definitely amusing the children through the long school holidays but that hasn't stopped people rummaging around online looking at houses for sale in Wales.
According to the latest figures from Principality Building Society covering quarter two property sales from April - June 2022 Wales continues to experience some of the strongest property price increases across the UK as the average price of a property rose to more than £240,000 for the first time in the second quarter.
Even against the backdrop of the increasing cost of living crisis property portal Zoopla has had a busy summer, with August data revealing 10 properties that have attracted the most attention.
Of course, those having an online look at the houses for sale in Wales during the summer months aren't all necessarily looking for a new home - many are just being nosey or doing research on the types of homes and locations a particular budget can bring you.
The most viewed online houses for sale in August include a number of modern mansions that have an abundance of space, family homes looking for a new brood to nest inside and a few unique abodes too.
Prices as well as locations and what the home can offer varies within the top 10 list too. The most costly on the list is the £1.4m house with a surprise extra bungalow in the garden, lots of land and facilities for the horses.
But the Zoopla list can offer some homes further down the price list too, including a renovation project going to auction with a guide of £250,000 and a house for only £160,000 but it comes with an issue that needs to be fixed.
1. Llanwern: guide price £550,000
The most viewed property during August was this modern detached home in Milton, Llanwern on the fringes of Newport. Outside it's a new build that promises space, inside that space is filled with neutral colours and layers of tactile textures, reflective surfaces and splashes of sparkle.
The house has three to four bedrooms depending on how many you need versus the requirements for a home office, playroom or games room - it's a flexible abode that can fit to how a new owner wants to live. One aspect that is definite is the sociable nature of the home, with the ground floor a broken-plan triumph.
The large living room at the front flows directly into the dining room at the rear via a substantial open doorway, which offers you views and direct access to the garden via an impressive bank of glass bi-fold doors.
The dining room, which comes with its own modern fireplace too, then flows into the kitchen via another open doorway to form a U-shaped living space that occupies the majority of the ground floor.
The kitchen has an added social space set up at the island unit, and the garden can offer a place for perfect fine weather gatherings too via the deck at the far end. The show home style house is on the market with a guide price between £550,000 and £650,000 with estate agents Pinkmove, call them on 01633 746088 to find out more.
2. Gorseinon: £1.4m
Push the budget way up and the amount that is on offer obviously expands too, and this property near Gorseinon, north of Swansea and Gower peninsula, appears at first glance to be a classic bogof situation - buy one, get one free.
As well as the four bedroom detached house that has been refurbished, in the garden you will also find a detached little bungalow annex that has an open-plan living space and bathroom on the ground floor and a bedroom on the first floor.
But there is so much more to this property than a house and annexe. According to the estate agent the property comes with an additional two cottages and a timber framed building too, making it more like a mini hamlet than a bogof property, and they also state that the sale comes with planning to build a five bed town house set in the four acres of land.
The horses should be happy too as the site can also boast purpose built stables and a ménage. The house with multiple extra homes for humans and horses is on the market for offers in the region of £1.4m with Peter Alan, call their Gorseinon branch on 01792 894422 to find out more.
3. Pontardawe: £350,000
The views inside as well as outside surely make this three bed detached home in Rhos, near Pontardawe, an appealing option for anyone with a budget in the region of £350,000.
Inside there are tasteful and neutral interiors that are comfortable and inviting and mix natural textures such as wood, cotton and linen to ensure a warm welcome in every space. The ground floor offers a large lounge at the front with access via a wide, open doorway from the hall so light as well as internal views are shared between the two spaces.
The kitchen diner at the rear is surely the heart of the home and continues the peaceful palette of colours. It is currently set up as a kitchen with a lounge area because this home also has a formal dining room off the kitchen that opens directly out onto an elevated deck that looks out over the wonderful views outside.
And a bonus feature that surely most potential buyers will be delighted to discover is the hot tub - and immersed in the bubbles the views out over the rooftop and treetops must look even better. The house is for sale for offers in the region of £350,000 with Sullivans estate agents, call them on 01792 732734 to find out more.
4. Murton: £250,000
No list would be complete without the excitement of a renovation project. And with Wales experiencing month after month of record breaking average house prices, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), tackling a renovation of a dated house for some people is the only way to get onto, or move up, the property ladder. Of course, some renovators are professional property developers and some people just love doing it.
So it's not a surprise to see that this bungalow in Murton near Swansea with a guide price of £250,000 was popular with online house hunters, although online bidding on this auction lot closes on Wednesday, September 7 at noon.
As well as damp and peeling wallpaper the house can offer more positive features such as a good sized plot with a front and rear garden, plenty of off-road parking and a garage, flanked by wonderful and sweeping rural views across fields to trees and hills beyond.
The plot is maybe large enough to accommodate more properties, subject to planning consent of course, if you fancy maximising its property potential but if not the new owners will be inheriting a substantial and very special garden full of foliage potential.
Inside the house has three bedrooms, two reception rooms and one bathroom. The auction property is open for bidding with a guide price of £250,000 on Dawsons website until Wednesday, September 7 at noon, call them on 01792 646060 to find out more.
5. Bronwydd: £385,000
If a unique view is on your 'must have' house hunting list and you have a soft spot for steam trains as well as stunning and rolling rural landscapes, this four bed bungalow is surely a winner.
Nestled in the rural yet conveniently located village of Bronwydd, just three miles north of Carmarthen, there's plenty of room to park your car at this home. But there's also plenty of places to park yourself and be mesmerised watching the steam trains trundle past from the Gelli Railway where visitors can take a scenic train ride on old steam engines along the Afon Gwili valley.
The trains, and the surrounding rural vistas too, can be enjoyed from the elevated garden balcony off the sunroom and any of the rear windows - including the kitchen sink, the master bedroom and the family bathroom.
According to the estate agent the house, called Trevalgan, has been recently refurbished to a high standard and can offer a family a modern, open-plan layout that has the kitchen, living and dining rooms connected.
There are four bedrooms, one with an ensuite, a family bathroom, a sun room and a garage on the one level of accommodation whilst the utility room can be found in the surprise hidden basement. The house with the steam train view is for sale for £385,000 with John Francis, call their Carmarthen branch on 01267 340069 to find out more.
6. Treharris: £599,950
Space is the final frontier at this huge home in the valleys - there are six bedrooms, four bathrooms and a garage with a games room waiting to be discovered in the loft space above where the cars sleep that is currently home to a full size pool table.
The property packs such a space punch that you might feel a bit out of this world when looking around because each room within this well designed modern mansion offers a stylish setting to relax and enjoy life, with or without the family.
There are open-plan areas such as the huge kitchen diner at the rear that directly flows out onto the garden, but there are also places to find some peace. The living room and formal dining room are connected rooms via a set of sliding doors, the advantage being they can also be shut off when both rooms want to be more private and intimate.
There's also a totally separate lounge at the front that offers the ultimate in peace with only the utility room and cloakroom as immediate neighbours. The house then expands over two upper floors to offer those six bedrooms, with one of the second floor spaces surely the perfect place for a home office, away from the family and the surrounding valley views.
The detached house that has it all is on the market with no forward chain for £599,950 with Bayside Property Lounge, call them on 01443 809836 for further details.
7. Newport: guide price £295,000
This home in the city has been extended to provide space for the human occupants inside, with the outside offering what appears to be the best cat adventure playground ever in the garden - lucky humans and lucky moggies.
Inside, the home has three large reception rooms on the ground floor, with the front living room and the rear dining room connected via bi-folding doors, so you can be connected to those in either room or you can close the doors if you're sick of the sight of them.
There are four bedrooms to escape to as well, plus a set of double doors from the dining room out onto the sunny and very inviting, good sized garden deck, a perfect place to watch the fur babies play on their amazing playground.
The estate agents say it's a family home situated within a highly popular residential area and extremely convenient location of Malpas, Newport, the cats say please don't leave our amazing playground behind when we move - it's up to your solicitor to negotiate on behalf of the feline members of your family for that feature to be included in the sale.
The house for humans and cats is for sale for a guide price of £285,000 to £295,000 with estate agents Pinkmove, call them on 01633 746088 to find out more.
8. Penclawdd: £160,000
In a quiet cul-de-sac in the village of Penclawdd that is located near the coast on the northern edge of Gower peninsula can be found this family home going to auction.
If location is a prime consideration when house hunting, this two to three bed detached home is within walking distance from local shops, amenities and schools and a short drive from the beautiful beaches of Gower and with good road links to the M4 Motorway; coast, country and city either surround the home or are close by.
The house has a ground floor made up of lounge, kitchen, bathroom and a versatile room that could be a dining room, study or the third bedroom. Upstairs, there are two bedrooms and an ensuite wash closet. Outside is a bonus summerhouse that has insulation and power so could be open to a variety of uses. So there's space and location, so why is the house going to auction and why with such a low guide price?
The estate agent explains that the property is for cash buyers only 'due to a sulphate attack on the concrete slab, however there is a report in the legal pack detailing the issue and explaining how to fix it'. Find out more by contacting Dawsons on 01792 646060.
9. West Cross: £550,000+
Overlooking Swansea below, this four-bed family home in West Cross is a transformed property from standard to stunning. The brick has been rendered and refreshed with white paint that provides a visually engaging contrast to the black contemporary frames of the windows.
And if you have a fantastic view it makes sense to expand the scope of the windows - enlarge them, replace them with bi-folds and add a bonus Juliet balcony to fully optimise the connection.
The upper ground floor offers a substantial and impressive kitchen that spans two spaces at the rear - a glossy and sleek kitchen that flows into a dining area. There's a separate formal dining room that could be a playroom, media room or study too, plus a lounge that has the most incredible and expansive city and coast view thanks to those floor-to-ceiling doors and Juliet balcony.
All the spaces have been lavished in luxury interior design, based on a black and white mono scheme first introduced by the kerb appeal of the facade of the house and carried on throughout inside with layers of tactile surfaces and modern touches to add the final flourish.
The house has extra space too, offering a new owner a handy, hidden annexe on the lower ground floor that is going to be very popular with the younger layer of the family, with a cool mezzanine level accessed via a wooden ladder as well as a kitchen, lounge area and a shower room.
But if income is on your mind, the estate agent states that the annexe has planning permission to be used as a holiday home. Find out more by contacting Keys Property Agents on 07983 568982.
10. Llangennech: £1m
If you've got around a million cash to splash then this huge modern mansion is going to maybe cause some ripples, located on the Loughor estuary the views are mesmerising, and what better place within the sizeable garden to appreciate them than from the huge terrace that runs alongside the estuary?
If more water is your heart's desire, there's a hot tub located under a gazebo too, so you can enjoy the bubbles whatever the weather.
Of course there's room for all the family here - and their friends - with five bedrooms, three receptions and three bathrooms as well as parking for six and that big garden.
The top floor of this three-storey handsome home has the fifth bedroom as well as a huge amount of storage which is handy in a house that can accommodate so many people and the treasures that they bring with them, some of which can find a new home in the attic.
The middle floor has four big bedrooms with the master and bedroom two having the bonus of direct access to a substantial balcony, so maybe the hot tub isn't the best place to admire the view? The master also has an ensuite and large, private dressing room.
Down the ground floor and the kitchen diner is a beast, spanning the width of the house and having a utility room off it larger than some people's main kitchen. There are then three reception rooms - two at the front, one in the centre of the house that can be whatever you desire, but at the moment one is a rather special spot.
The agent selling the house says one of the reception rooms has 'multi-room audio and video with a speaker system so movies can be watched with a cinema effect'. To find out more about this home for sale for offers in the region of £1m contact Peter Alan, Gorseinon branch, on 01792 894422.
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