Granny annexe boom
MULTI-GENERATION living has been a hot topic for the past few years but the recent enforced isolation of older family members and gloomy job prospects for young people has made it more relevant than ever. Being unable to visit elderly parents has hit people hard during the coronavirus crisis, while the inevitability of a recession may affect school leavers and new graduates more than other sections of society.
So could the answer be a granny annexe – or even a graddy annexe?
Online searches for homes with annexes were up by 16 per cent during March and April according to PropertyHeads.com, which analysed the results of more than 3,000 searches.That’s more than the 12 per cent increase in searches for homes with gardens, nine per cent increase for rural properties and four per cent rise in searches for homes with space for an office.
“The results of our analysis show that the coronavirus pandemic has already led to a noticeable shift in the preferences of prospective buyers using our portal to search for a new property,” says PropertyHeads group CEO Ben Davis.
It’s a view shared byWiltshire-based Matthew Hallett, director of Winkworth estate agents in Salisbury, who says demand for such properties has been particularly notable since the housing market in England was reopened a few weeks ago.
“What we are seeing now is buyers looking for home working spaces but also the ability to create an annexe or ancillary accommodation for an elderly loved one or a grown-up son or daughter – as families forced to isolate separately can start to think about life post-lockdown.”
Winkworth has four-bedroom detached Lydford House with a two-storey outbuilding in a landscaped garden currently used as an office, which could be converted to accommodation with consent.
THE pretty 1883-built house in Sixpenny Handley, a village near Salisbury, is for sale at £659,950 (01722 443000; winkworth.co.uk). Chartered surveyor Sam Gibson, who works for property consultancy Galbraith, says the current situation brings into focus the needs of different generations and homes with flexible layouts.
“Many people will give more consideration to having a dedicated games room for younger children, converting the loft to a chillout space for teenagers, or creating an annexe for older family members, either as a permanent addition to the home or for occasional use,” he suggests. Galbraith’s offices in northern England and Scotland have several properties with outhouses and separate cottages, including Mansewood House in Dumfries and Galloway, which has a two-bedroom bungalow in its two-acre garden.
The detached five-bedroom house near the harbour town of Kirkcudbright is a period country house from the mid-1800s that has been modernised by its current owner, who let out the bungalow as an Airbnb.
Although it is still not possible to view properties in Scotland, it’s for sale at £625,000 (01556 505346; galbraithgroup. com), with more details available online.
The potential of a property with an annexe, particularly in tourist destinations, is an important consideration, as James Greenwood of Stacks Property Search points out.
“They have multiple uses; so while they can be used in the post-Covid world as a granny annexe or space for teens, they provide the option of a good income stream if they’re no longer required by family,” he says.