Home » Uncategorised »
Most Expensive Homebuyers Prefer City Living
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
Buyers purchasing the most expensive homes are choosing to live in urban areas, as opposed to a rural setting, reveals analysis of prime property sales by Knight Frank.
Research by the firm looked at the places outside of London where the most expensive property sales were completed. It found that the top 10% were in towns and cities.
Typically, prime house sales outside the capital are for properties costing between £400,000-£500,000.
Most Expensive Homebuyers Prefer City Living
Although the number of prime sales in England and Wales dropped by 13% between 2005-14, in six locations, the amount increased by more than 40% over the same period.
According to Knight Frank’s data, house prices in town and city markets have risen by 26% since 2005 and now stand 3% above the peak recorded in 2007. Rural property values have grown by just 7% and are currently 13% below the pre-crisis high.
The locations with the biggest increase in prime sales are all in the South East, with Tonbridge coming out on top after an 80% rise in transactions in the last ten years. Cambridge is second, with prime sales increasing by 69% and an average house price of £811,332 in the top 10% of the market.
Recently, house builder Hill revealed that it has sold six homes on a seven-property development in Cambridge, before the scheduled launch date. The £1.3m price of a four-bedroom home clearly did not discourage buyers. The purchasers were described as a mix of Cambridge residents, some of which commute to London. They are predominantly owner-occupiers.
Knight Frank expects the trend for urban living to continue.
Senior Analyst at Knight Frank, Oliver Knight, comments: “The top towns and cities are all places that are doing well economically. A lot of the reason people move is for work and many of these areas are places where new jobs are being created.”
As well as being a commuter hotspot, Tonbridge could also be witnessing increased activity as banking jobs in nearby Tunbridge Wells are on the rise, says Knight.
Cambridge and Exeter also have science parks, which drive employment levels up.
Knight concludes: “As the economy continues to recover and house prices outside London show further growth, we predict more London buyers will make the move out to the regions and this will boost the ripple effect of house price growth from the capital.”1
1 http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/nov/15/wealthy-homebuyers-prefer-to-live-in-cities
