A media group has apologised for insulting two towns in an oops moment that has apparently left local estate agents fuming.
The Independent reported – as did many others, including EYE – the Rightmove report showing the country’s fastest moving property hotspots.
The list was topped by Newport, and included two other Welsh towns – Wrexham and Colwyn Bay.
Fortunately, the EYE report did not manage to cause any upset – but not so the Independent’s version online.
This was because the URL read: “People probably wanted to sell up so they could get the f*** out of there.”
Unsurprisingly, regional newspaper the Daily Post was up in arms at the insult and found some obligingly upset estate agents – albeit that both seemed to want to stress the message about correct pricing.
Leigh Hayward, at Wrexham estate agent Wingetts, said of the URL: “Whoever wrote this should be in big trouble.
“They are very wrong as well because for homes to sell there has to be strong demand. This is not about people wanting to leave Wrexham, it is about people wanting to come here to live.
“Demand is very strong which has seen prices go up 5% to 10% in the last six months and new homes are being built all the time and developers want more land.
“Homes that are realistically priced are selling in two to four weeks so I’m not surprised the town is on that list.”
Richard Edwards, from Wynne Davies estate agent covering Colwyn Bay and Rhos-on-Sea, said it must have been a “bad day at the office”.
A spokesman for the Independent said: “The appearance of this inappropriate URL was an unacceptable error.
“We apologise for the offence it has caused and are conducting a full investigation to establish how it came about.”
Is Eddie Jones moonlighting as a journo on the Independent?
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