Leafy outlook can add extra £2,500 to the value of a home

LIVING close to green spaces such as parks, allotments, golf courses and playing fields can boost the price of a property by £2,500 on average, statisticians have found.

Even living within 100m of a public green space can add thousands to property prices, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has reported.

Having views of open greenery, rivers, canals, lakes or the sea can command even bigger premiums, with such views boosting house prices by around £4,600 – or 1.8 per cent.

A million property sales in English and Welsh urban areas were studied between 2009 and 2016 from a property website to estimate how much homebuyers valued green space.

The results showed properties very near to public green spaces attracted a premium – and the more green space, the higher the premium.

Adam Dutton, from the ONS, said: “Living near parks, gardens and playing fields or having a view can have a real positive impact on the price of your house, and the nearer the green space is, the higher the premium.

“We are continuing to uncover and improve our measurements of the ways in which nature impacts on people’s health, wealth and well-being in the UK.”

Houses and flats within 100m of public green spaces are on average £2,500 more expensive than those more than 500m away. Detached homes within 100m of a green space can add up to 2 per cent to the price, the research found.

But with flats, the premium was less pronounced at just 0.6 per cent more expensive than those further away.

The ONS gathered data from Zoopla and Ordnance Survey, using maps and aerial imagery.

Public parks or gardens, play spaces, playing fields, sports facilities, golf courses, allotments and community growing spaces were included, as were cemeteries.