It's no secret that house prices have soared in recent months, with areas all over the country seeing sharp rises on last year. The average price of a house in Wales is now £233,361, with an annual rise of 9.7% and a 3% increase on the last quarter.
In fact, every Welsh local authority but one - Denbighshire - experienced a rise in house prices when compared annually, according to the latest figures from the Wales House Price Index. Some areas have even seen double-digit increases, with house prices in Monmouthshire a staggering 18.8% higher than they were 12 months ago.
However, while prices are rising, spending a lot of money on a property does not necessarily guarantee you'll be living in an 'upmarket' area. But what makes an area 'posh' in the first place?
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People from across the country have now taken to Reddit to share what they think are the key features of an affluent area, with attributes ranging from the type of shops in the town centres to the clothes worn by local residents. Stay up to the date with the latest news from across Wales by signing up to our newsletters.
The debate all started with one Reddit user claiming that despite where he lived being home to bespoke cake shops and bistros, he didn't consider his local area to be posh. "What are some things you absolutely only ever find in a posh area?," he asked on the Casual UK subreddit. "I was thinking of things like bistros or bespoke cake shops, but nope," he added. "There's some near where I live and that's not posh."
Before too long, hundreds of people chimed in with their thoughts on the subject, with many of the responses to the thread relating to 'posh' shops that cropped up in affluent areas. "Butchers shops with whole pheasants hanging on display with the feathers still on," wrote one, while another suggested: "Charity shops that have items in them you can't afford."
Tweed, wax coats and blazers were also mentioned on several occasions, with one person writing: "Hunting supplies shops selling really expensive wax coats and shotguns". "Country stores," agreed another user. "They sell tweeds, horse tack, expensive wellies and shotguns." A third person commented: "Boat shoes, chinos, Oxford collar shirts and a linen blazer are the posh man uniform."
For others, it was all about the type of houses and cars in a neighbourhood that made it undeniably posh. "Electronic gates over the driveway with an intercom," wrote one, with another proposing: "Streets where the houses have names rather than numbers".
"Really well looked after 25+ year old luxury estate car, that were bought brand new outright," added another, while one user wrote simply: "Teslas". What do you think makes an area posh? Let us know in the comments section below.
Other suggestions included community libraries, private schools and restaurants with no prices on the menu. "Car boot sales that are more like the antiques roadshow than a flea market and more likely to be in a nice meadow next to a church than say, the asphalt carpark of a local smelting factory," wrote one person who commented on the thread.
Another wrote: "Every child is in private education or they have a 'Norland' nanny if they are too young for school." The full list of signs an area is "posh" according to the Reddit thread can be found below.
What makes an area proper posh?
- Pheasants hanging in the window of butchers
- Artisan bread shops
- People wearing wellies and tweed
- Restaurants without prices on the menu
- Yacht dealers
- Expensive charity shops
- Vintage estate cars
- Shotguns & hunting supplies
- Equestrian equipment
- Tesla and Mercedes cars
- Flowers on lampposts
- Chocolatiers
- Red phone box
- Detached houses
- Immaculate pavements and roads
- Norland nannies
- Independent musical instrument shops
- Gelato shops
- Bespoke kitchen and bathroom showrooms
- Accounting firms on the High Street
- Driveways with an intercom
- Car boot sales filled with antiques
- Community libraries
