Despite all the doom and gloom in the press, Rural View Prime had a record year for country house sales in 2023 – primarily in the £1,000,000 – £4,000,000 range. The negative news stories by property pundits have generally focused on discussing the UK’s average house price circa £300,000 which is of course a very different market and one much more impacted by the higher interest rates. However prices have softened across the board by at least 5% for the best and in other cases 10% +.

The Ukraine & Israel wars, high interest rates along with economic/political uncertainty do prey on the minds of would-be purchasers. However, we live in an incredibly beautiful and fashionable area with wonderful open spaces, rolling countryside and low housing stock. It is this imbalance of supply and demand which keep prices strong and encourages buyers to invest, where debt ratios are low and “cash remains king”. London based buyers continue to gravitate west, although perhaps not in quite the same numbers as the previous two years. The schooling locally in both state and private sectors is ever popular and our road and rail connections offer great flexibility.

One of the key themes to 2023 was our success with private sales. During the year, 70% of our prime sales took place off market, which is an incredibly high statistic. Why is this you may ask? Increasingly vendors and buyers are gravitating towards this option preferring their property not featured online.

Overall, we are positive about the prospects for the country house market in 2024 as the economic situation gradually improves and the impacts of higher interest rates are gradually absorbed. It could be an early market next year, but it will always be weather dependent and a cold/wet spring can put the brakes on! It’s uncertain exactly when the general election will take place but history tells us that buyers often “sit on the fence” in the month leading up to this causing a temporary pause. Preparation is always key, so make sure the hedges and edges are neat and tidy and you have good sunny photos if you are contemplating a move! We look forward to being of any assistance.

The post-Covid frenzy for buying in the country was a phenomenon that spanned a good eighteen months, showing a marked inflation over that period of some 15% – 20% in Wiltshire, Dorset and Somerset (Land Registry Index), although many of the properties we sold demonstrated an improvement even on this figure.

By the middle of 2022, however, mounting energy costs together with inflation and rising interest rates led to a calming of what had been a frenetic market, with some of the ‘froth’ coming off the top. It remained busy over the summer months until the infamous ‘mini budget’ at the end of September 2022 led to an unsettled period with trading levels slowing down drastically and prices falling back some 5% – 10% from their previous highs.

During the early months of 2023 a long, wet winter held back the traditional spring market but it eventually budded. In comparison to other regions, this part of the country was cushioned by continuing demand for character homes in the best locations and, with an ongoing lack of supply, prices were underpinned for those top properties.

Over the summer & autumn months of 2023 Rural View had a particularly successful period at the upper end of market, selling many country houses and with most attracting strong competition. 70% of these sales were conducted off market.

The economy showed early signs of recovery during the second half of the year and confidence in the rest of the housing sector gradually returned, with activity levels improving over the autumn and early winter months. Stock levels were certainly down throughout 2023, but we found that there were still plenty of serious buyers.

Looking forward to the twelve months ahead, the crystal ball is somewhat cloudy. At the time of writing, mortgage rates are falling and the hope is that the base rate will come down as well. We are already seeing improved sentiment in the buyers that we are speaking to, which fills us with confidence, and our thinking is that 2024 will be a much less volatile market with prices remaining stable. We expect our region to continue being an attractive destination for buyers drawn to its beautiful countryside, excellent schools and quality of life, and we hope to see a gradual upturn in overall market conditions as the year progresses.

Rural View are delighted to announce that we have teamed up with a young go-ahead company called Eden Greenspace who were founded with the sole aim of helping to repair the damage caused to the World’s environment through human activity.

This is not a meaningless ‘greenwashing’ exercise but the opportunity for both us and our clients to positively contribute to the health of the planet and its inhabitants by investing in projects that offer real and practical solutions. Rural View have pledged to donate a portion of our income from sale commission fees to one of the four projects Eden Greenspace are involved with and give our clients the opportunity to say which one they would like to see ‘their’ contribution invested in.

The projects are –

– Removing marine plastic from UK shores

– Planting trees in Africa & Nepal

– Saving bees by rewilding British flower meadows

– Providing solar lights in Sub-Saharan Africa

For more information on Eden Greenspace’s projects and how Rural View are helping to restore the planet contact us for a brochure.

You don’t have to be a vendor client of Rural View to get involved, we can provide you with a link to find out how you can.

We hope that you’ll share our excitement at becoming part of such a worthwhile and important cause!

After a hectic early few months last year, the 2022 property market finished with a whimper rather than a bang. With UK interest rates already on the up as a consequence of the strained global economic and geopolitical picture creating galloping inflation, the disastrous mini budget at the end of September resulted in a steep rise in mortgage rates during the autumn. This led to a drop off in activity levels by the end of the year and a flattening of, and even a small dip in house prices.
Coming into the new year there has been much talk about what’s going to happen to the housing sector in 2023 and especially to property prices. Our thoughts are that it will probably be a muted start before things pick up again in the spring. After years of feast or famine, we are hopeful that the market will settle down as the next few months progress with steadier, calmer trading conditions ahead. Although house prices might come back a little, we don’t envisage a steep drop over the coming year as they are likely to be supported by the demand for homes continuing to outstrip supply.

It was the end of the summer holidays in late August that signalled a wind of change in the mainstream and country house markets. For the first 8 months of 2022 the housing market remained incredibly buoyant with significant viewing numbers, buyers readily competing fiercely for desirable properties and “best offers” remaining common place.

The now infamous “mini budget” saw banks rush to increase mortgage rates incredibly quickly, which immediately started to filter into the market. It is clear that the days of ultra-low interest rates are behind us and we will need to adjust to the new norm.

We remain positive for the market locally and history tells us that if there are falls then this area is likely to fall much less than other parts such as the south east. The outlook for the market and pricing will ultimately depend on how the economy performs and what happens to interest / borrowing rates as a result.

We continue to see healthy levels of demand from good quality buyers. The upside for them is that in this more balanced market they will have a little extra time to make buying decisions compared with the frenzy of the post covid era. Deals continue to be agreed with a few off-market sales too; but as we move towards the year end some will use this time for watching & waiting, although if the right thing comes up don’t wait too long !

We now look for a few months of stable government and anticipate the market gathering momentum in the new year. If you are looking to sell or buy, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch – we would be delighted to help.

CS Nov 22.