NEWS
Prices for £4 million plus prime country houses in UK continue to rise
04-10-2012
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Price growth is continuing particularly in an around Oxford, Guildford and Esher but prime country house under the £4 million mark have seen prices fall by 0.9% in the third quarter of the year. This comes on top of a 1.5% decline in the second quarter of 2012.
Grainne Gilmore, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank said that average values have been on a downward trajectory for much of the last two years but overall there has been a varied performance in the prime sector.
‘On average, homes worth up to £2 million have seen a 4.3% fall in value over the last year. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the increase in the stamp duty charge levied on properties worth £2 million and more from 5% to 7% in March, homes worth between £2 million and £3 have seen the biggest falls in price since this time last year, dropping by more than 7%,’ she explained.
Rupert Sweeting, head of Knight Frank’s country department, pointed out that the upper end of the sector has bucked the trend, and prices continue to rise. ‘Homes worth between £4 million and £5 million have climbed in value by 1% over the last year, while properties valued at £5 million and above have risen in value by 3.2%, showing demand is still strong for the very best and unique country homes,’ he explained.
There are also some localised areas of outperformance. Prices in and around Oxford are up 2.3% on the year, while prices around Guildford have risen by 2%. Home owners in Esher have seen the value of their prime property rise by 4% over the last 12 months.
‘The rises in these areas partly reflect the increase in buyers from London who are looking to take advantage of record high prices by selling and moving to the country. International buyers are also a more significant feature in these markets. Indeed web searches for prime country property on Knight Frank’s global property search engine from the US, Germany, Canada and Spain have risen notably over the last three months, especially for properties worth £5 million or more,’ said Sweeting.
Activity in the market is steady with viewings up 1.3% in the third quarter of the year compared to the same period last year. ‘While the number of exchanges fell by 8%, the data on sales subject to contract, which captures transactions data earlier in the sale process, shows a 14% increase,’ said Gilmore.
‘The market is characterised by uncertainty at the moment, however, with transactions taking longer than they usually would and more deals de-railed before completion. Constrained mortgage lending continues to cast a pall over the market, especially in the lower price brackets, while the clarity on the new tax rules for offshore buyers expected in early December can only help bolster confidence in the market,’ she added.
