Britain’s property hotspot villages have been revealed and top-of-the-pile Malborough, near Salcombe in Devon, has seen prices almost double.
Lockdown has seen a surprise property boom – marked by deep-pocketed buyers escaping to the country – driving prices in some popular villages up substantially.
The top 10 villages listed by estate agent Savills have all seen average property sale prices rise more than 50 per cent, as demand outweighed supply in locations where homes rarely come up for sale.
The list of top 10 villages includes Malborough, in Devon’s South Hams, Bisley-with-Lypiatt, Blockley and Shipton-Under-Wychwood, which all benefited from the Cotswold effect, and Brasted, near Kent commuter hotspot Sevenoaks.
Do you live near one of the villages in Britain where prices have soared as revealed by estate agents Savills? These figures show how much average sale prices rose in the year to November 2020
The data compiled by Savills exclusively for MailOnline looked at parishes in England and Wales with the biggest increases in the average price of homes sold.
It should be noted, however, that as transactions within such limited areas will be low, average local price gains can be much greater than in a broad national index and individual expensive property sales can skew the figures.
While the data analysed parishes – defined as towns and villages – the list only ended up featuring villages.
This one-bed end of terrace house in Malborough, Devon, is for sale for £300,000, via estate agents Luscombe Maye
This may reflect the trend among buyers for more quiet outdoor spaces and greenery during the pandemic as people have faced repeated lockdowns.
Savills was keen to highlight that the small nature of parishes means that sale numbers are limited – something that has a disproportionate effect on the price increases.
The estate agent explained how that the impressive price increases during the past year did not equate to price growth – and that, rather, they show what has been seen across country markets.
This has been a search for space, with many families upsizing and a search for greenery being a top priority for many buyers.
This three-bed detached house in Bisley, Stroud, has been on the market with an asking price of £675,000 via Murrays estate agents
| Parish | Local Authority | Average second hand sale price, 12 months to Nov-20 | No of second hand sales, 12 months to Nov-20 | Average second hand sale price, 12 months to Nov-19 | No of second hand sales, 12 months to Nov-19 | 1 year change in average second hand sale price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malborough | South Hams | £450,275 | 26 | £234,366 | 29 | 92.10% |
| Bisley-with-Lypiatt | Stroud | £792,500 | 23 | £462,163 | 30 | 71.50% |
| Brasted | Sevenoaks | £1,108,002 | 23 | £697,872 | 21 | 58.80% |
| Shipton-under-Wychwood | West Oxfordshire | £753,543 | 23 | £474,942 | 26 | 58.70% |
| Blockley | Cotswold | £654,530 | 35 | £421,250 | 37 | 55.40% |
| Marcham | Vale of White Horse | £529,748 | 29 | £348,885 | 26 | 51.80% |
| Watton-at-Stone | East Hertfordshire | £546,544 | 21 | £360,247 | 21 | 51.70% |
| Thakeham | Horsham | £741,596 | 26 | £489,708 | 24 | 51.40% |
| Wanborough | Swindon | £560,965 | 24 | £371,500 | 22 | 51.00% |
| Boldre | New Forest | £1,086,900 | 20 | £720,998 | 25 | 50.70% |
| Source: Savills | ||||||
This three-bed cottage in Brasted, Kent, is for sale for £415,000, via estate agents James Millard
This three-bed in Shipton-Under-Wychwood, Oxfordshire, is on the market for £520,000, via estate agents Thomas Merrifield
The list of villages with the biggest increases in the average price of homes sold include Malborough, in South Hams, which has seen a rise of 92 per cent.
The village is near Salcombe and is popular among tourists, with holiday homes located throughout the area.
The average price of a property in Devon’s Malborough was £234,366 in November 2019.
Fast forward 12 months to November last year and the average value of a home in the village has risen sharply by 92.1 per cent, to £450,275.
It is followed by Bisley-with-Lypiatt, in Stroud, Gloucestshire, where the average price of a property has risen from £462,163 to £792,500 during the same 12 months, up 71.5 per cent.
In third position is Brasted, in Kent, with values rising 58.8 per cent, from £697,872 to £1,108,002 in a year.
Also in the top 10 are Blockley, in the Cotswolds, Wanborough, in Wiltshire, and Boldre, in the New Forest, where the average price of homes sold have risen 55.4 per cent, 51 per cent, and 50.7 per cent, respectively.
The average price of a property in Britain has risen 2.55 per cent during the past year, or by £7, 600, to £305,397, according to property website Zoopla.
This four-bed detached house in Marcham, Oxfordshire, is for sale for £625,000, via Hodsons estate agents
This three-bed detached house in Watton-at-Stone, Hertfordshire, is being sold for £950,000, via estate agents Fine & Country
This three-bed house in Thakeham, West Sussex, is for sale for £725,000, via estate agents Cubitt & West
If you can’t find a property in a location from our list, there’s always a neighbouring village: This five-bed house in Hampshire’s Lyndhurst is for sale for £1.5million, via Savills . It is near Boldre, which is in our list of top 10.
It follows a separate Savills survey that revealed 42 per cent of its 1,100 respondents claimed proximity to a park or open space was one of their top two priorities when looking for a new home a year ago.
This has now risen to 55 per cent, driving premiums for proximity to National Parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty and other large green open spaces.
Frances Clacy, of Savills, told MailOnline Property: ‘Over the past year, there’s been a significant increase in demand for property in villages as many have looked to upsize for more inside and outside space.
‘This is the opposite to the trend we’d seen over the period since the credit crunch when towns and cities tended to outperform, which means in many cases, villages now look good value in comparison and the ability to get more for your money has further increased buyers’ desire for village life.’
Savills used data covering November to November as this was the most up to date Land Registry figures it had access to at the point of doing the analysis.
This four-bed house in Wanborough, Wiltshire, is being sold for £750,000, via estate agents Richard James
This six-bed house in Boldre, in the New Forest, is on the market for £1.75million, via estate agents Spencers