Financial foresight pays off. Sometimes investments pay off quickly, sometimes they take longer. Nancy Gifford’s case is of the latter kind. The Briton is now being rewarded for her exceptional patience. Her parents laid the foundation, literally. In 1921 the Giffords made a decision for the future. The mother and father of the family of four spent £200 and quickly bought a house with it. What today can’t pay for much more than the journey of the craftsmen was enough for a three-bedroom house for Brits in the roaring twenties of the last century.
In the tranquil little town of Street, which – contrary to what the name suggests – not only consists of one street, but also has small guesthouses, shopping facilities and an old church, the young happiness settled down. The town is located in the south west of England in the county of Somerset in the middle of the triangle between the cities of Bristol, Bournemouth and Exeter.
Nancy spent her childhood there and met her man for life at school. Together they remained loyal to the Gifford family home in Street and raised their own two children there. In an interview with the BBC television channel, her now 79-year-old son John found only words of praise for his “fantastic” childhood. Everyone knew everyone and the door could have been left open without fear of burglars. All were poor but happy. He still lives in Street in the neighborhood of his parents’ house.
His mother Nancy celebrated her 104th birthday on Tuesday and is about to change scenery. Because of her deteriorating health, she moved from the family home in Street to the nursing home in neighboring Glastonbury, which is about ten minutes away by car. On the way, however, she still takes the return from 102 years on the real estate market with her. The house that her parents bought for £200 is now being sold for £170,000. With her property, she has achieved almost a thousandfold increase in value. Respect, Mrs Gifford!
However, it is doubtful whether she would stand out among the applicants with this reference in an application for a hedge fund. According to figures from the British central bank, in 1921 a pound was worth almost 39 times what it was in 2023. Converted, this means that Nancy’s parents bought the house for a current price of 7,800 pounds. Over a period of 102 years, this results in an annual increase in value of just over three percent. That’s solid – but not world class.
After all, she’s been able to ignore the madness of the rental market all her life. Ultimately, a house is primarily a retreat for the family and not an investment. That’s why the agent responsible for the sale, Jack Bartram, who by profession should actually look at houses coolly from a business perspective, says that his client Gifford connects many beautiful memories with the house. “But now it’s time for another family to make new memories.” What remains exciting is the price at which buyers can resell the house in 100 years.