Now that the holidays are over and our children are being dragged back to school, it is the natural time for people to think again of moving house, with Christmas as the end goal. For this reason we’ve seen increased demand for rural family houses.

Late Summer/early Autumn is a traditional time of year for property transactions to pick up and due to a busy few months of sales, supply is now fairly thin on the ground. We have maintained a steady register of keen buyers, however, and there will be more getting in touch over the coming weeks.

So what are these buyers looking for? The most keenly sought after type of property is the 4 or 5 bedroom family house, situated in a rural or village environment. If, for instance a property of this ilk became available in the general area between Salisbury and Shaftesbury, we know that it would generate huge interest and possibly competitive bidding. We know because we are speaking daily to frustrated buyers and this is indicative of the strength of the middle market in South Wilts/North Dorset.

Both London and the Home Counties are producing the majority of incomers, escaping small gardens in the Capital and increasing traffic elsewhere. Good schools, beautiful countryside and a fantastic quality of life is the draw, not to mention the significant differential in property values.

There are also those who need to upsize locally; whose children have outgrown smaller cottages and now need the space, both inside and out, to spread. Improved communications and hence income have meant that these buyers are not necessarily priced out of the market, but budgets may be under more pressure and they are generally more reliant on borrowing.

The one thing that is certain is that there will not be a meaningful increase in the number of larger new build homes around here and in any case, most buyers are after individual properties at this level, putting a further emphasis on supply.

So if you are considering selling a family sized house you will need to have good advice from an Agent who really deals in this market, and if you are hoping to buy one, you will need to be prepared for battle.