Foreign buyers boost country estate values in UK
Wednesday, 5 January 2011 1:48 PM
Prices in the UK's prime country housing market continued to rise in 2010, thanks mainly to a shift from British buyers to interest from overseas.
This is according to research from Harrods Estates, which found that values in the first half of last year rose on average by two per cent.
Prices are now approximately 4.6 per cent higher than they were in June 2009, though these figures only tell half of the story.
Classic country estates, comprising a period house, stables and typically more than 100 acres of land, were found to no longer be the sole focus for buyers.
Instead, the research noted growing demand for 'lifestyle' country houses within an hour's drive of Greater London, which tend to be new builds or renovations with less land but an impressive array of luxury features.
This change in focus follows a shift in buyer profiles, with analysis of Land Registry data revealing that 15 per cent of country house sales were to overseas investors in 2010.
Shirley Humphrey, sales and marketing director at Harrods Estates, said: "The UK prime country property market is a safe place to invest, both in terms of properties holding their value over time and the economic and political stability of the UK itself.
"The weakness of sterling has further increased its appeal for overseas buyers," she added.
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- buying ,
- house prices ,
- london ,
- luxury homes ,
- selling ,
- south east ,
- uk property news
