Investment in property in the UK is considered a viable strategy by many family offices. According to the recent research conducted by Agreus, 84% of family offices continue to invest in property. However, in the UK, the demand for property polarised heavily, setting London aside with just a 2% growth in the market this year. The new sectoral leader in demand is the property in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), where call for new objects increased by more than 85% during the year.
Demand continues to outstrip supply on the UK property market. It dipped by 9% after the 1st July, because the initial stamp duty holiday ended. However, it is still well up on usual market conditions (up by 80%, compared to 2017-19). Zoopla research shows that ‘search for space’ drives house prices up 7.3% over the last year, while growth for flats is significantly weaker at 1.4%.
Government just added a new factor to this picture by considering to award the Cheshire Sandstone Ridge and Yorkshire Wolds official status as AONBs, the first in more than 25 years. The price of a detached house in one of the UK’s 46 AONBs is almost a third higher than a similar property a few miles outside the boundary. But a detached house inside the proposed Cheshire Sandstone Ridge AONB is already 34.2 per cent more on average than a similar one just outside the proposed limit. As a result, local estate agents enjoy a steady stream of buyers from Manchester, London, and Liverpool to the area.
| AONB | House price premium |
|---|---|
| Gower | 79% |
| Norfolk Coast | 70.10% |
| South Devon | 63.20% |
| Chichester Harbour | 62.10% |
| Mendip Hills | 56% |
| DedhamVale | 46.70% |
| The Clwydian Range & Dee Valley | 43.30% |
| Cotswolds | 41.70% |
| Shropshire Hills | 40.70% |
| Suffolk Coast & Heaths | 40.60% |
Source: Land Registry data April 2020 – March 2021.
Prices are being pushed upwards by robust growth in Wales and the North West of England, which, at 8.4% and 7.3%, respectively, are the highest house price growth rates in these regions for 16 years. There is also strong price growth in Northern Ireland (8.6%).
Detached houses in Surrey are now worth £75,000 more than at the start of the pandemic.
ORACLE CAPITAL GROUP is an investment and real estate development consultancy. We specialise in residential and commercial property projects. In addition, we provide accountancy and tax services for buy-to-let companies.
