Country house prices increase for the fourth quarter in a row, according to the latest figures from Knight Frank.
Date : 12 July 2010
Quarter 2 results from the Knight Frank Prime Country House Index
Key Highlights:
· The value of English prime country house prices rose on average by 2.5% in the second quarter of the year and is now almost 8% higher than 12 months ago
· Prices have now increased during every quarter of the past 12 months
· Quarterly growth was highest in the southwest (3.3%), but on an annual basis the Home Counties have seen the biggest rise (10.7%)
· The market is becoming increasingly polarised
Andrew Shirley, Knight Frank’s head of rural property research, commented:
“The price of prime country properties rose by 2.5% in the second quarter of the year taking total growth for 2010 to 4.6%. The latest quarterly increase means prices have now been rising for 12 months, but they are still almost 15% down from the peak of the market in autumn 2007.
“A continued shortage of property for sale and a resurgence in demand is helping to boost prices in most parts of the UK, but the austerity measures proposed by the Chancellor in his emergency budget means prices are unlikely to rise at the same pace during the rest of the year and some of our offices are reporting that values have already started to flatten out.
“Areas around London such as Henley and Tunbridge Wells with quarterly price growth of 6.6% and 7.9%, respectively, continue to perform strongly, but are predicting that this upwards trend will slow over the coming year.”
“The first half of 2010 has been a very stop-start six months for the property market. We had the heavy snow at the beginning of the year, a General Election and then to round it off an emergency budget. All in all there have been plenty of reasons for people to delay the buying or selling of houses.
“But now the landscape is pretty clear and people are starting to get on with things again. The volume of pages we are taking in Country Life, which is a good barometer of the health of the market, is up by around 15% this year. The economic outlook is admittedly looking tough following the emergency budget’s wave of cost cutting, but at least we know where we stand in relation to taxation, in particular Capital Gains Tax, which was not increased by as much as many expected. Interest rates also look set to remain low for some time.
“The prime country house market is likely to continue into the usually quiet summer months, but what we are seeing is an increasing polarisation between the really good houses and those that are over priced or not quite scoring top marks for location and quality. We recently sold two wonderful houses in the Cotswolds for a 20% premium, while others have struggled to make their guide prices.”
Prime country property performance by sector
|
Property Type
|
Quarter 2 price change %
|
Annual price change %
|
Average value
|
|
Cottage
|
2.4
|
7.7
|
£0.47m
|
|
Farmhouse
|
1.9
|
8.6
|
£1.2m
|
|
Manor House
|
3.2
|
7.2
|
£2.7m
|
|
Unweighted average
|
2.5
|
7.9
|
£1.4m
|
Prime country property performance (all types) by Knight Frank region
|
Region
|
Quarter 2 price change %
|
Six-month change %
|
Annual change %
|
|
Home Counties
|
2.3
|
5.2
|
10.7
|
|
South West
|
3.3
|
5.6
|
9.2
|
|
Central England
|
2.8
|
4.6
|
7.7
|
|
North
|
0.6
|
2.3
|
4.7
|
For further information, please contact:
Andrew Shirley, head of rural property research, Knight Frank,
Rupert Sweeting, head of country department, Knight Frank,
Davina Bell, residential PR manager, Knight Frank,
Ends
Notes to Editors
Knight Frank LLP is the leading independent global property consultancy. Headquartered in London, Knight Frank and its New York-based global partner, Newmark Knight Frank, operate from 207 offices, in 43 countries, across six continents. More than 6,340 professionals handle in excess of US$886 billion (£594 billion) worth of commercial, agricultural and residential real estate annually, advising clients ranging from individual owners and buyers to major developers, investors and corporate tenants. For further information about the company, please visit www.knightfrank.com.
About Residential Research
Research provides strategic advice, consultancy services and forecasting to a wide range of clients worldwide including developers, investors, financial and corporate institutions. Our research reports are available at my.knightfrank.com/
About the Knight Frank Prime Country House Index
The Knight Frank Country House Index is a valuation-based index, compiled quarterly from valuations prepared by professional staff in every Knight Frank Country House office in the UK. The index is based on the valuation of a comprehensive basket of properties throughout all UK regions based on actual sales evidence.
Knight Frank tracks the performance of three country house categories; cottages, farmhouses and manor houses. A typical manor house comprises a large property standing in its own, usually extensive, grounds with a private drive. A typical farmhouse has between five and six bedrooms, several acres of land including garden, paddock and barns. A typical cottage has about one acre of land, is detached and has three/four bedrooms. Detailed definitions of the three property types are available on request together with current case studies of properties being marketed.