Prime sales hit 15-year high as wealthy flock to country

Sales of luxury rural homes have risen to levels not seen in 15 years after wealthy buyers flocked to the countryside last year.

Low interest rates and savings thanks to months of lockdown restrictions has meant more purchasers pursued bigger homes in greener spaces in 2021.

Sales of prime country homes priced at £ 5m and above jumped by a fifth compared with 2020, according to estate agency Knight Frank, and were 76pc higher than in 2019, before the pandemic triggered an exodus to the countryside.

The agency’s Rupert Sweeting said: “The country market was pretty flat for a decade before the pandemic and many buyers and sellers have decided now is the time to get on with it.”

The number of prospective buyers registering an interest in the prime country market also hit a record high, up 139pc on 2019 figures.

It continued to pique international interest, despite Covid- related travel restrictions and the introduction in April 2021 of a 2 percentage point stamp duty surcharge for overseas buyers, said Mr Sweeting.

Buyers from China and Europe were particularly active last year, while two American purchasers bought rural houses worth more than £ 5m after viewing the properties via video.

The average prime country property price rose by almost a fifth last year, driven by this rise in demand and the same lack of stock that has hampered the rest of the housing market.

Craig Fuller, of Stacks-Fuller Property Search, a buying agent, said there was “no question” buyers had revised budgets upwards.

“One client who started at £2.5m is now working on a budget of £5m,” he said. “The setting and approach of a property remain crucial, ideally being in the middle of its own land, with enough acreage to ensure a significant buffer and ensure the opportunity for ponies for younger families.

“Demand for the really rural locations has also been replaced by those within spitting distance of a reasonably sized town.”

High ceilings were also near the top of buyers’ wish lists, Mr Fuller said, with swimming pools coming back into fashion, alongside tennis courts.

“Although,” he added, “more and more I am asked about space for a paddle court ( a mix between tennis and squash).”

Buyers have also been drawn to the idea of a renovation project, particularly those with more time on their hands following successive lockdowns and a change in work patterns.

Mr Fuller said: “People want property that has not been done up, which they can put their own mark on without paying a premium for someone else’s taste.”

The luxury market in London also broke records last year. Buyers spent £11.6bn across prime areas of the capital in 2021, the most ever recorded by LonRes, a property analysis firm.

City purchasers were on the hunt for more space, with 57pc more houses selling last year compared with the average sold each year between 2015 and 2019. Flat sales were up by just 16pc.

Marcus Dixon, of LonRes, said: “In 2021 buyers bought bigger and spent more. It was in the final months of the year that the top end of the market, which we define as properties sold for £5m or more, was busiest.”

Sold prices rose by 7.2pc in the final quarter of 2021, compared with the same period in 2020.

Mr Dixon added: “Demand built at the end of the year and is likely to spill into the first months of 2022, so we would expect to see the volume of sales rise again.”

The number of prime London properties under offer was 22pc higher in the final three months of 2021, compared with the long-term average.