A home in the countryside costs a quarter more than a home in an urban area, on average, and rising rural prices have led to a dearth of first-time buyers in some areas, according to figures from the UK’s largest mortgage lender.
Research by Halifax found the least affordable rural area was Chiltern district, between London and Oxford, where at an average of £477,526 homes cost 9.5 times local average earnings. Cotswold district was next on the list, with an average house price of 9.4 times the local salary, at £339,052.
On average homes in rural Britain attracted a premium of £46,475, selling for £225,217 against the typical cost of £178,641 in urban areas outside Greater London. Halifax pointed out the gap had narrowed over the past five years.
The starkest difference between the cost of country living and a property in town was found in West Midlands, where buyers pay an average of £243,717 for a rural home, £88,781 more than their near neighbours in urban areas.
The least affordable rural areas are all further south, where house prices are many times average salaries. Across rural Britain, Halifax said, homes cost 6.8 times the typical salary, against 5.6 times salary across urban areas outside London. As a result, first-time buyers are struggling to afford them. In several areas, including East and West Dorset and Waverley, just a quarter of purchasers in 2014 have been new entrants to the market, despite a rebound in first-time buyers across the market generally.
Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: “It typically costs significantly more to buy in rural areas with a substantial premium existing in all the regions of Great Britain. This reflects the aspiration of many to own a property in the countryside.
“The relatively high prices, however, put rural homes out of reach for many, particularly the young.”
