According to foreign property analyst Knight Frank, the UK's Country House market ended the year as it began after the market reopened in May 2020, with high-value properties proving to be the best performer during the fourth quarter. Buy Property in The Pearl Qatar - Qatar Property for Sale
Property worth more than £5 million saw the most growth in a year marked by the escape to the countryside trend, rising 5.1 percent in the three months to December. The annual rate of growth in that price range rose to 7.9% as a result of this.
The index rose by 1.7 percent in the three months leading up to December. In 2020, this culminated in an annual price change of 4%, the highest in more than six years.
Despite the eight-week lockdown, the number of approved deals at the end of the year was 35 percent higher than the five-year average.
Exchanges had already exceeded last year's number by 3% by mid-December. Around 30% of the agreed-upon deals have yet to be exchanged, indicating that transactional activity will continue to be high through 2021.
Higher-value properties performed well in 2020, thanks to a combination of growing demand for outdoor space and buyers being in a financial position to act more quickly. As a result of the pandemic, both buyers and sellers have decided to proceed with their plans. Due to a slew of tax reforms that gave rises more leeway, price growth for higher-value properties has lagged behind the rest of the economy in recent years.
The market's momentum was unaffected by the second national lockdown in the autumn, with new prospective buyers registering with the country company up 42 percent in November relative to the five-year average, and selling instructions up 42 percent. In November, the market was 22% ahead of the five-year average, demonstrating how the market's seasonality has been reduced this year.
Seven of the top ten most viewed locations outside of London during the second national lockdown were outside of London, showing that demand for country living remains strong and that, if the trend of people fleeing to the countryside begins to fade as vaccines become more readily accessible, it will do so gradually.