Property price growth in the English countryside is almost neck and neck with rises in the cities, according to the latest research from Zoopla.
Home values in towns and cities across the UK have increased by 5.7% over the past year, but rural England is hot on its heels with an annual property price growth 5.1% over the same period.
The average value of a rural home in England now stands at £264,338, which is £51,737 (24%) higher than the typical urban property outside London.
Rural homes in the East of England have seen the biggest uplift in value over the past year, with prices up by 6.5% (£17,098).
This is closely followed by homes in the South East, which have climbed in value by 6% (£22,157) in the past 12 months, meaning that homebuyers in the region can expect to pay £66,100 more to live in a rural part of the South East, as opposed to a bustling town or city.
City pads in the East of England and South East experienced the strongest annual growth of 7.5% and 6.7%, respectively, outpacing rises in London. But the most expensive urban location in the country is Kensington and Chelsea, with the typical pied-à-terre in W8 now valued at £2.7m.
Lawrence Hall of Zoopla said: “Urban areas had a head-start in the housing recovery, with demand propped up predominantly by employment opportunities. This drove price growth in these economic hubs and left countryside markets by the wayside.”
