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Country towns' surge in housing market value

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They may no longer be hubs of commerce with rickety stalls and over-zealous traders, but a new survey suggest that the UK's market towns have a new plentiful source of income – the housing market.

Research by Halifax says that nearly three out of four towns have higher average house prices than the neighbouring towns in their country and 70 per cent have seen higher property price inflation than the UK average over the past five years.

The demand for properties in market towns, defined as rural habitations with populations between 3,000 and 30,000, could be down to a new phenomenon called 'downshifting', if new research is to be believed.

A survey by Prudential reported earlier this week that three fifths of the British population would consider relocating to a cheaper area within the British Isles, or would move abroad to lessen their stress levels and increase their leisure time.

Although market towns may no longer be a cheap option for the average Briton, the survey suggests that successful individuals who have some spare capital in the bank are looking to reduce their blood pressure by swapping their highly paid jobs and expensive pads in city centres for a slower paced, less materialistic lifestyle in the country.

Three years ago, 53 per cent of people said that they would consider downshifting or had already done so, but today this figure has swelled to 61 per cent.

This colludes with the Halifax's findings that the popularity of market towns has exceeded the national average in recent years.

Colin Kemp of Halifax Estate Agents said: "Home buyers continue to be attracted to the high quality of life offered by market towns and are prepared to pay a premium to live there."

Market towns' charms have indeed had a dramatic effect on the housing market. Property investors looking to pick up a property in a quaint habitation couched within a pocket of countryside have seen properties in 37 per cent of market towns double in price since 2001.

But this strong inflation in prices is not evenly spread across the country. More than three quarters of the towns that have seen prices double are in the south of England and currently, six out of the ten most expensive market towns are in the south-east.

That said, investors believing that the growth in these communities' properties is set to continue may feel the need to plough their cash into developing market towns; the survey also found that nine out of the ten best performing market towns in the last five years were outside the south of England.

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