The Finest Properties from Around the United Kingdom Contents
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COUNTRY VIEW 2016 COUNTRY THE FINEST PROPERTIES FROM AROUND THE UNITED KINGDOM CONTENTS 04 INTRODUCTION A warm welcome from Rupert Sweeting, head of Knight Frank’s Country Department 06 KNIGHT FRANK RESEARCH Our experts look at how the Brexit could impact the prime country house market 08 GARDENERS’ WORLD The added value of having an amazing garden 10 TOP MARKS Living near top-performing schools 12 LITTLE AND LARGE Upsizing or downsizing NOW AVAILABLE 132 View the finest properties from around CONTACTS the United Kingdom on your device today. Your key contacts at Knight Frank PROPERTY 14 55 HOME COUNTIES HOME COUNTIES Sales Lettings 74 85 SOUTH CENTRAL SOUTH WEST 98 115 COTSWOLDS THE THREE COUNTIES 122 KNIGHTFRANK.CO.UK/COUNTRY NORTHERN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND An Introduction An Introduction an INTRODUCTION By RUPERT SWEETING A VERY WARM WELCOME ince the Prime Minister set a date for the caution, similar to the sentiment in the run-up to SEuropean Union referendum vote back in the last General Election in 2015. February, there has been an inordinate amount Changes to Stamp Duty have also had an effect. of crystal ball-gazing and speculation as to From April 1, a 3 per cent Stamp Duty surcharge has the outcome. been imposed on buy-to-let investments and second In the face of all this uncertainty, transaction home purchases. Needless to say, this has spooked a volumes were reduced as buyers waited for the result. number of buyers, many of whom sought to complete Now we have it. The vote to leave throws up a number transactions before the deadline. But the market will of questions. Whilst it is unlikely we will see a sudden adjust to this over time. surge in activity throughout the market, we will see A place in the country has an enduring appeal. an increase in activity from people who have been In this issue, we look at, among other things, the sitting on the fence. Some buyers may put plans on benefits of living near a top-performing school, the hold but the majority will move forward as vital merits of upsizing and downsizing and the added deadlines such as schooling beginning, the onset value of having a beautiful garden. of empty nesting and the desire to move to a larger To discuss your own particular requirements, house become more urgent. please do not hesitate to contact us. You can also go Nevertheless, we hope that this definite to KnightFrank.co.uk, where you can explore more referendum result will help to boost confidence and than 2,000 country properties for sale and to let in stability. It’s possible that the pound will weaken but any one of 19 languages. In addition, while we use this may mean that more international buyers will print and digital channels to showcase a selection come to the UK. Britain is still a safe haven for of homes, we sell over a third of our properties property buyers; it is politically stable and a great off-market. If this method appeals to you, place to live. please get in touch. In delivering a ‘leave’ vote, we hope at least that this resolution will alleviate the jitters experienced in the UK prime property markets in the run-up to the RUPERT SWEETING referendum. After the Government revealed the June [email protected] date for the referendum, the impact of the four-month Head of Country Department hiatus became clear. There was an evident sense of +44 20 8022 4636 4 Country View 2016 5 THE EU REFERENDUM PRIME COUNTRY DEMAND PICKS UP Increase in applicants and viewings (index 100 = Jan 2014) WORDS by OLIVER KNIGHT Source: Knight Frank Research Knight Frank Research [email protected] There is no doubt that the vote in favour of activity and demand. a Brexit has generated a period of renewed uncertainty However, it is worth noting that any slowdown across prime residential property markets. However, in UK economic growth – and the possibility of rising it is important not to overstate its impact. unemployment - will also be felt in the housing market, The latest figures from Knight Frank show that, as these factors affect household incomes as across the prime country house market, annual price well as sentiment. growth has slowed to 1.3% over the year to the end of It seems a reasonable assumption to make that June 2016, down from a recent high of 5.2% in 2014, interest rates will be lower for longer, despite the risk of but is still in positive territory. inflation from a weaker pound. In the short-term this While it is fair to speculate that at least part of the could help underpin demand especially for equity rich slowdown in more recent months has been related to buyers with access to the best funding rates. market uncertainty, caused by the EU referendum, Meanwhile, any significant and sustained drop in it has not been the only factor at play. the value of the pound relative to other currencies will In fact, the easing of price growth since 2014 provide a boost to international demand in the prime PRIME COUNTRY PRICE reflects a greater sensitivity to pricing from buyers in country market. the prime market following successive increases in Ultimately, while the prime country market GROWTH SLOWS Stamp Duty Land Tax that culminated in the changes has performed relatively well over recent years, index 100 = Q1 2009 introduced in December 2014. following a slow recovery immediately after the global Source: Knight Frank Research This was followed by an announcement financial crisis, prices have not tracked London to in November 2015 that buy-to-let investors and those date and as such there is scope for some outperformance purchasing second homes would be subject to an extra in the short to medium term. Overall, prices are three percentage points on the rate of Stamp Duty still 14% below their previous market peak on average from April 2016. across the country - while London is 60% above the Demand for prime property rests on a wide range previous peak. This is the widest gap in living memory of drivers – most of which are unaffected by the making country property highly attractive compared referendum decision. Our experience is that, in spite of to the London suburban equivalent. the vote and other headwinds, demand for prime The primary drivers of the prime country market country property remains fairly robust. will remain unchanged and the fundamental demand The number of new applicants registering and supply dynamics in prime town hubs are unlikely their interest in purchasing a property with Knight to change. This will continue to drive turnover, Frank increased by more than 10% over the three especially in prime town and city locations in the south months to June versus last year, while the number of England with excellent transport links back to the of property viewings conducted was up by 24% over capital which have been among the first to benefit from that same time. Both early indicators of gathering the ripple effect of demand out of London. 6 Country View 2016 7 Celebrating the anniversary of THE ADDED Capability Brown VALUE of WORDS by HELEN NUGENT HAVING AN hen you think of Britain’s most beautiful people prefer a lot of mature trees, water and follies. It Wgardens, what springs to mind? Chatsworth just depends on the person. in Derbyshire? Alnwick Castle in Northumberland? “For a lot of people, gardening is a great relaxant. AMAZING Oxfordshire’s Blenheim Palace? These are some of If they are working in the City, flying around the the most magnificent landscapes in the country world, sitting in boardrooms, to be in their garden and they were all designed by one person: means they are able to relax quite quickly.” GARDEN Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. It may also reduce the heart rate to discover that a This year marks the 300th anniversary of his fabulous garden can significantly add to the value of a birth in August 1716. It may be three centuries since property. Beor-Roberts estimates that a great outside this visionary walked the earth but his legacy lives on. space can add between 10 and 20 per cent to the price During his lifetime, Brown created some 170 parks of a house. across the UK, many of which can still be enjoyed “But it could be much more,” he says. “It very today. Many people credit him with transforming the much depends on the setting, if the garden runs down English landscape garden. When you cast your eye to a river. Water adds value to a property because over the grounds of Gloucestershire’s Badminton people love it. And if there isn’t any, quite a lot of House and Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire, it’s hard to people add water features because they find disagree. His designs also live on at Highclere Castle, them soothing.” the setting for TV’s Downton Abbey. Back in Capability Brown’s day, a water feature Brown – whose nickname derived from his habit was practical as well as beautiful. Historically, great of describing landscapes as having ‘great capabilities’ houses were built near lakes and rivers in order to - knew everything there was to know about the benefits provide a source of water in case of fire. Meanwhile, of a stunning garden, although his artistic tendencies the ha-ha ensured that deer could not wander around leant towards the grand vista rather than the intimate the carefully-landscaped gardens. setting. In many ways, he was way ahead of his time.