Fast trains and improving motorway networks are creating a boom in the country house market, according to Knight Frank & Rutley. In a new publication(*), KFR say that the Home Counties and all areas to the west of London as far as Wilshire and Gloucestrshire are leading the way in house price rises. Catching up fast are counties to the east — from Sussex through to East Anglia.
Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire, an hour’s train journey from London, “look particularly good value” with country house prices increasing at below the national average. Some areas which have not fully benefited from improved communications could see rises accelerate once their road systems are improved, KFR predict. Wiltshire, Somerset and Dorset come into this category.
It will soon become more attractive to live in and commute from Warwickshire, whether working in London or Birmingham, as a result of the M42 road link round the south of Birmingham. Property prices in the northern half of the country, however, have not risen as fast as elsewhere, except in Yorkshire. KFR say that weekend commuting is a “growing tendency”, with country house buyers prepared to travel beyond the normal commuting distance. Scotland has experienced substantial price rises over the five-year period, particularly in the Borders, the South West and Central Scotland. KFR point out that not only do these regions possess good road and rail connections to the centres of Glasgow and Edinburgh, but they also provide efficient means of travel to and from London.
(*) Buying a country house. Country Life Publications, King’s Reach Tower, Stamford Street, London SE1 9LS. £2.95.
