House prices: will the Olympics help our homes sell for more cash - or less?

My boyfriend and I are thinking of selling his flat - as it’s a fourth floor seafront apartment blessed with gorgeous views stretching out over Weymouth Bay, you might think we’ll be laughing all the way to the bank.

But house prices seem to be incredibly high, and with the Olympic Sailing events descending on us in less than two years, even getting a good price for your previous property doesn’t seem enough to help you upsize and afford a bigger property.

Our dream house is one with more rooms, a garden and space for a shed (and keep chickens!). But scanning the market for something like this, my heart sinks. A gorgeous three-bedroomed Victorian double bay-fronted home in Broadwey is already sold, according to the Domvs website. (Well, £230,000 might have been a little bit out of my league...)

A quick check on FindaProperty.com reveals there are 190 properties for sale in Weymouth at the moment. In desirable beachside places like Greenhill, it’s still mostly flats and maisonettes where prices are sky rocketing. On 25 February this year, a new property, number 24a Flat 5 The Pines, sold for £280,000 (leasehold)! Compare that to the summer of 2001, when flats 1 and 4 of the same address went for £187,000 and £220,000 respectively.

You still need £400,000 or more to afford a three-bedroom house in Weymouth’s beautiful surrounding villages like Abbotsbury, Osmington or Upwey. Even one of the relatively new three-bed homes in Lodmoor - on offer by Mann Countrywide - is still nearing quarter of a million: £245,000 for a home in a quiet cul-de-sac off Monmouth Avenue!

More bad news from another property website, Home.co.uk, which shows that the number of flats sold in Weymouth this June is down 17 per cent on last summer’s total. In contrast to FindaProperty.com, it also says the average price of flats for sale has also dipped from £146,367 in June 2009 to £141,595 in June 2010.

So what’s happening from the seller’s point of view - is the market slowing down? One Weymouth resident who has now moved out of the area says: “I placed my three bedroom semi (off-street parking front and rear, excellent decorative order, unspoilt views, 10 minutes walk into town) on the market for a reasonable £249,950.00  at the end of August 2010  (expecting offers in the region of £230 - 240,000) and since that time I have only had a handful of viewings and not a single offer - not even a punt!”

Local people know only too well that prices in Weymouth are well out of their reach. We’re all worried the Olympics will push prices rise even higher.

For example, Connells are offering a three-bedroom detached home in Fortuneswell on Portland with a price tag of £275,000. Along with Georgian-style windows, lounge/diner, conservatory, garage and off road parking for several vehicles, it lists other benefits as “sea views from the front and it is ideally situated for Olympic 2012 Sailing events”. It will be interesting to keep an eye on houses like this to see if the price goes up the closer we get to 2012...

Palmer Snell are definitely targeting the sailing community - they’ve got a four-bed house in Wyke Regis for an asking price of £285,000. Apparently it’s “situated within 50 yards of Portland Harbour which will be hosting the 2012 Sailing Olympics”.

One Weymouth estate agents I’m really looking forward to visiting is Remax Estate Agents on The Esplanade, where businessman Gavin Sandrey has diversified into the Orange Cup Cafe. It’s the perfect place for tired house-hunters to put their feet up, peruse property brochures and build their castles in the air - all over a mouthwatering selection of cakes and ice creams!