Well obviously it would have to have a chimney that would "stack up" with sufficient room for his reindeer, Rudolph, and accommodation for himself and Mrs Claus but most importantly a grotto to which local children could come to meet him and collect their presents.
This would require a fairly large garden in which he could dig down to build a cave and therefore create the grotto. The garage would have to be fairly large not only to store the sleigh for Rudolph and all the presents but somewhere for the elves to pack the presents ready for delivery to all the children.
Having considered this requirement for a second, it suddenly dawned upon us. We knew the very place. It would be ideal. It would be located in a village just outside Guildford with a population of just 2,981 living in 1,310 households. The local area has woods and several commons ideal for Rudolph to munch grass and to play with all the other local four legged residents.
The property would be located at Christmas Pie Avenue, in the village of Christmas Pie, one of the most festive sounding street names in the U.K.
The curious name of Christmas Pie owes its name to a property once owned by a prominent local family named Christmas. They were major landowners during the 17th and 18th century.
"Pie" is a word derived from the Saxon term "pightel" or "pightle" meaning a small piece of arable land. Until the area was built up during the 1920s there was a small field called "Pie Field" located near the Christmas Pie crossroads not far from the village of Wanborough.
The village is the home to Christmaspie Cottages, converted from the original Christmaspie Farm built circa 1823 which probably took its name from the association with the Christmas family. Nearby Santa will be able to work off a bit of his Christmas dinner on the local Christmas Pie Trail, a 8.5 miles long, leisure cycle route running from the northwest edge of Guildford to the east side of Farnham.
Santa would not have to wait too long to buy in Christmas Pie Avenue because properties do tend to sell frequently. There have been 59 property sales since the beginning of 1995, and 4 in the last 12 months.
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| Local bungalows all with chimneys designed for Santa Claus |
Many owner occupiers are couples and families so Santa will not have far to travel to deliver presents to the local children. The majority of properties in Christmas Pie are bungalows so Santa will not have to negotiate too far down to the Christmas tree to drop off the presents either.
Now that Santa is having to live off a pension and savings and cannot obtain a mortgage because he is now 'elf-employed it is unlikely that he will be able to obtain a mortgage. In any case, there will probably be too many Claus' to comply with. The fact that he seems to be so poor is probably why he is always seen in the red. Fortunately for him, properties in Christmas Pie Avenue are reasonably priced compared to other areas of Guildford so he should be able to afford his purchase there.
For example, the most recent sale was at no 99, in August 2019, when a 2 bed house sold for £390,000. A similar sized property in Guildford town centre would be priced typically around £425,000.
However the current average value of property in Christmas Pie Avenue is £507,700, having risen by 5.3% in the last year and by 201.76% in the last 20 years, which is almost the same percentage at which Santa Claus' waste line has expanded over the same time.
This is my last blog before Christmas so all that remains for me to do is to wish all my readers a very, very Happy Christmas, good heath and lots of fun over the festive season. Ho! Ho! Ho!
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| Celebrating Christmas for charity in Guildford |
If you would like to have a chat about property prices in Guildford or would like to discover where and how you can gain a greater return for your money in the bank call 01483 320207.
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