David Ellis

100% with you on the tourist tax, but on the second homes taxes, I think there's a much better way to ensure locals have access to housing - build more houses. Its easy to raise taxes, much harder to provide a new, energy efficient housing stock

UK brick deliveries are a useful proxy for house building starts in the absence of monthly house building starts data. Deliveries in February 2025 were 21.4% higher than a year ago according to the Department for Business & Trade. (1/n)
#ukhousing #ukconstruction

Pandemic-fuelled shift to coast and country has gone into reverse Fewer people want to escape from cities – and homes by the sea have lost some of their lustre, says Rightmove

It was never going to last in my opinion. Only a handful of people would genuinely find the rural lifestyle sustainable. When life got back to normal, you'd need to be close to work again and you'd want ready access to all the amenities an urban life offers.

www.theguardian.com/money/2025/a...

The valuer in me couldn't help but take a closer look at the houses along Llys Helyg Drive, one of Wales' most expensive post codes

Day off for a walk around the Great Orme. There cannot be a better road walk in the UK, especially on a beautiful Spring day like it was today.

The Old Lifeboat Station in Moelfre has sold for £158,000 off an auction guide of £95,000. Will be interesting to see what the new owners use it for. If it's going to be a holiday let, would you fancy spending the night there in a storm?

Councillors throw out bid to build 36 homes near Gwynedd Aldi as they are 'out of reach' for locals 'The town is in dire need of affordable homes and social housing'

Gwynedd, the county with massive need for new housing, but where Councillors seemingly refuse every application to build new houses...

uk.news.yahoo.com/councillors-...

Retailer Søstrene Grene joins Nordic invaders hoping to revive UK high street Danish business, which has opened a new central London store, moves into space left empty by the pandemic and cost of living crisis

Good to see physical retail still has a future, but rents and rates must be realistic
www.theguardian.com/business/202...

But even then, if Brexit is anything to go by, there will be years of denial where people refuse to admit they screwed up with their vote

It's definitely the case. For example, parts of North Wales it will cost you more to build a house than it market value. Thats why there's very little private housebuilding at the moment without a housing association end user. I cant speak for other areas, but its hard to believe we're unique here.

100%. The implications of Trump's actions over the last week are enormous. He's completely destroyed the America's reputation and turned how the world operates on its head. Its bonkers!

Every day I put tens of emails from "SEO experts", "social media gurus" and "website specialists" into my junk folder and still I get more and more. With all of Apples technological expertise, why cant they stop this crap getting through to my inbox?!

This is my patch, and I there's a lot more going on here than just the council tax premium. It's having an impact, but so are a lot of other things, and like you say, small dataset isn't helping, as we do have some pockets of very expensive property that can skew averages.

🤞

Bangor University receives £10m donation for business school The contribution will enable the start of creating the Albert Gubay Business School, the university said.

Fantastic for Bangor University
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Nationwide says house prices up 4.1% on last year, but signs are that market is softening. Market also somewhat distorted by the sales rush before SDLT changes on 31/03

The Welsh language yet again used as a reason to object to new houses
uk.news.yahoo.com/claim-adra-h...

DeepSeek AI shakes American swagger and upends assumptions The app spooked the markets as well as the bullish sense of American superiority in AI development.

What's interesting about this for me is that, a few years ago, you might choose US AI tech over Chinese because of trust and ethics. But what US tech (and Government) have shown over the last 6 months is they can hardly claim to be 'the good guys'
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

WH Smith puts UK high street stores up for sale creating uncertainty for workers Surprise move frees up parent company of 232-year-old chain to focus on successful travel arm

Will be interesting to see if there are any takers, and if so, what direction they would take the firm. A Works style bargain bookshop or a Waterstones style with coffee shops
www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Power cut this morning and it was like my world had ended! No panad, no shower, internet...

Heck of a premium on bungalows that are in good condition at the moment in my experience. Building work such a hassle and expensive, plus buyers are often cash buyers

And yet, the "business leaders" that make these statements almost always will work from home themselves
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Important to remember its based in asking prices rather than sales complete, but still a useful barometer of the housing market
www.theguardian.com/business/202...

New-build Bellway home owners tell of roof leaks and loft mould Housebuilder Bellway says it has worked hard to resolve issues reported by residents.

Right or wrong, this is terrible PR for Bellway
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Mrs E has new job WFH, and has decided to keep her old workplace's 'Fat Friday' tradition. Who am I to argue!

We've invested in a treadmill. We had one a few years ago, sold it when we had our daughter, but then realised it's impossible to get out and exercise when you have a toddler so had to buy another one!

It's lovely when it's sunny and crisp like this. I'm very jealous of friends that have been able to get out in the hills this week.

Dont blame you on the road bike - my Strava feed was full of people either in the gym or on the treadmill last night. It's a bit dicey out there!

Mountains looking good on todays lunch walk

Streetview is such a useful tool. I inspected some wasteland for a valuation. I'm always keen to understand the previous use and so checked historic Streetview.

Look at that plant closely and you see its every valuers favourite, Japanese Knotweed. Notoriously difficult to identify in winter...

What I dont get about the tech bros is how, despite all their wealth and power, they dont find grovelling to Trump humiliating. In their position, I'd like to think I'd have the balls to stand up to him.