Welcome to the tiny village where house price rises rival London

Over the past three decades, property in Rhosneigr on Anglesey's west coast has enjoyed the most spectacular increase outside of the capital. So what is it that makes it such an incredible draw?

- Zak Garner-Purkis and David Dubas-Fisher

WHEN they were built, the townhouses perched a mere 50 from the sands yards of Rhosneigr beach - couldn't find buyers. It mattered little that they provided the perfect spot to watch the sunset over the sea. Three decades ago the small village on Anglesey's west coast was simply not enough of a draw.

In 1996 the island felt markedly more remote. There was no internet, travelling by car took hours and - although families came for holidays - it was a modest kind of place, where the average cost of a home was just £50,836.

Fast-forward to the present day and Rhosneigr has gone from a provincial vacation spot to a destination for the superwealthy. Analysis by the Daily Express shows that the increase in property values has been beaten only by London over the past three decades.

As of September this year, the average house price in this little Welsh village is an incredible £679,000.

When one of the townhouses near the beach came on the market recently, local estate agent Rhosneigr Property reported. overwhelming interest and made a swift sale. This was far from an isolated case. Demand for homes is now so strong that listings for small cottages with sea views last only a matter of days.

From her spot behind the till at the bluepainted Funsport surf shop, Nadine Moore, 30, wonders what exactly it is about the place that has generated such enthusiasm.

"I mean, it's just like a small high street and some shops," she says. "There's not much here."

She, like so many of the local residents the Daily Express spoke to, qualifies that with "apart from it being really beautiful".

Nadine, who is a water sports enthusiast, settled in the village after travelling around the world. And she's not the only one to have felt a magnetic pull. She says: "It's got a vibe to it. Even travelling to Australia and New Zealand [they weren't like Rhosneigr]."