31
Dec
A positive end to the year for high-end countryside property?
As the sun sets on an eventful and often difficult 2009, there are
some positive signs for the countryside high-end property market,
with a recovery said to be spreading out of London and into other
regions.
According to fourth quarter results from the Knight Frank Prime
Country House Index, prices for such properties increased on
average by almost 2.3 per cent and are only 2.6 per cent lower than
at the beginning of this year.
As for where people are looking, the Home Counties are leading the
country house market with growth of 3.1 per cent growth over the
quarter and annual expansion of 1.4 per cent. For the first time
since autumn 2007, all UK regions covered by the index saw a
quarterly price increase, so things are surely looking up.
"The price of prime country properties is now increasing across the
country as the recovery that started in London during spring 2009
continues to spread further into the regions," explained Andrew
Shirley, Knight Frank's head of rural property research.
He described the overall price rise as an "incredible performance"
given the economic situation that came after the collapse of Lehman
Brothers. According to Mr Shirley, the "overriding factor" behind
the increase in property prices has been "an imbalance between
supply and demand".
Potential buyers are also feeling more confident, he explained, as
they believe prices have hit bottom and so they have no reason to
be anxious about investing in a falling market. On top of this,
demand for properties over the £5 million mark is "growing
significantly" as we come to the end of the year, he added.
Rupert Sweeting, Knight Frank's head of country department, said:
"The best properties are now attracting competitive bidding on a
regular basis and guide prices are, in many cases, being exceeded,
with some houses selling for close to what they would have achieved
at the peak of the market."
Despite all this evident positivity, there is perhaps need for
caution as well. The UK is yet to come out of the recession, which
may mean people will be a little more austere when it comes to
making major purchases.
"We are ... some distance from a return to the headiest days of the
property boom when even properties with issues such as road noise
would command premium prices. Buyers do remain price sensitive and
it is the houses that tick literally every box that are attracting
the most competition," Mr Sweeting commented.
Meanwhile, a survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
(Rics) has shown that house prices have risen for the fourth month
in a row. Stuart Law, chief executive at Assetz, asserted that the
property market has seen growth for more than four months,
however.
"If you look at all of the indices, the [one from] Rics seem to be
lagging behind the average of all of the other indices. It is
stronger than it sounds. We have been seeing growth for about seven
months and the growth rate has been very consistent every month,
across the board," he explained.
Talking about the positive signs that have been seen in the
property industry over the last year, Robert Pritchard, director at
Smiths Gore, commented: "I think it is fair to say that throughout
this year, each month that has gone by confidence has continued to
grow.
"I think this time last year, the press were beginning to change
their attitude to the UK property market and I think the start of
the new year saw the first real turn around, in as much as people
then thought that the market is beginning to bottom out."
He said that by that time, those who had enough cash were actually
entering back into market and buying again very
competitively.
A sign of peoples' willingness to enter the market, Mr Pritchard
asserted, was the sale of Bourton House, a manor house with
nationally-acclaimed gardens located in the north of the Cotswolds.
It was secured by international buyers after five weeks following a
competitive bidding process.
So what about 2010 and beyond? Mr Pritchard said that the new year
will most likely see a similar pattern to what has been seen this
year - continued increases in value and confidence improving.
"By the time we have got to the end of next year, I think 2011
onwards we will see the market in good shape again," he
added.