“I FEEL people need to stop being so negative about Newport and start concentrating on its promising future.”

Those are the words of a first-time buyer who says she decided to make Newport her home, over Bristol, when the time came to put down her hard-earned cash for a house deposit.

Laura Foley, and her husband, Chris, moved to the city from Kent and are part of a new wave of people choosing to put down roots in the city.

Property website Rightmove has identified Newport as the fastest moving property market in the UK compared to last year, as the Argus reported yesterday, with housing experts highlighting the decision to scrap the Severn Bridge tolls as a major factor.

Mr Foley commutes daily to Bristol, with his wife saying the difference in price between the two cities was also a major factor.

“We could never have afforded anything like the house we wanted in Bristol in our budget,” Mrs Foley said. “We researched the Newport area and saw a lot of regeneration being put into the city in the recent past and in the next decade.”

After viewing seven homes, the Foleys settled in the Alway area last year.

Mrs Foley added: “We would like to see concrete plans, proposals and more positive steps in which the council and government are going to help the city prosper. People need to take pride in this city.”

Over the past year, available properties for sale dropped by 37 per cent, while asking prices rose by more than £12,000 on average.

Sally Wallis, of community news page Pill Pulse, said the situation was not without its issues however.

“It will cause problems for local people who wish to buy properties and the shortage may eventually lead to prices escalating,” she said.

Rogerstone ward councillor Chris Evans, meanwhile, warned young people could be “priced out of the property market”. Remedies could include turning disused buildings he suggested.

“There’s a huge waiting list with little to no supply in the social/affordable housing market – so, lets welcome new arrivals to our city, but have a plan to ensure there’s a future for locals,” he said.