Thinking of buying a house in Powys? Read this first!

The news that Powys now has the fourth highest percentage of houses in Wales valued in the top band of £223,001 or over might come as a relief to the County Council as it calculates the revenues due from their Council Tax but for pensioners on a fixed income it offers a daunting prospect. Escalating property prices do not provide an income and Plaid Cymru, which has already secured transitional relief for those who were rebranded severely, has recognised the problem by proposing to replace the Council Tax with a local income tax which takes account of people's ability to pay, not the value of their house!

A further shock came last week for those trying to get on the property ladder in Powys when statistics showed that house prices in the county had increased by no less than 110% in just 5 years. Powys remains one of the counties with the worst differentials between average house prices and average wages and Plaid Cymru has recognised this problem by proposing grants for first time buyers so that our young people can continue to live and work in the county. Added to Plaid's policy of helping students who live and work in Wales for 5 years after graduating to repay their loans these plans offer the most concerted attempt of any party in Wales to tackle the problem of affordable homes for all.