Urban Living Still On Trend

^{▲ The average sale price in some parts of Oxford is now over £1.2m}

One of the key features of the prime housing market over the past five years has been the much stronger performance of prime housing stock in urban locations compared to country property. Attractive towns, cities and urban neighbourhoods that are well connected, have a core of good quality family housing and a choice of high-performing schools have become the focus of a widening profile of affluent buyers.

Increasingly, young wealthy families have congregated in these locations, being joined by a growing band of prosperous empty nesters for whom access to a range of good restaurants, shops and leisure facilities has become increasingly important as they look forward to a longer retirement on the back of increased life expectancies.

This recent phenomenon is part of a longer term trend, which has seen the emergence of a series of so-called ‘super suburbs’. This is perhaps most clearly illustrated by the experience of the varsity cities of Oxford and Cambridge.

Over 20 years, the average sale prices recorded in the Oxford wards of St Margaret’s and North Oxford have risen by 659% and 617% respectively. In both cases, the average sale price now stands at over £1.2m. In Cambridge the average sale price in the wards of West Chesterton and Petersfield has risen by over 500% in the same period (though not to the same level). As a result, the £1m semi or terraced house is not uncommon in these two cities. Indeed, in 2015, they accounted for 60% of all £1m+ sales in these locations, with 104 sales of this type recorded by the Land Registry.

This localised long-term analysis also pinpoints the significant rise of Brighton over the past 20 years. Of the 30 electoral wards beyond London that have seen the biggest increase in their average sale price over this period, 12 are located in the local authority of Brighton & Hove, though the average values within these wards currently range from £285k to £431k.

These are just three examples of established and emerging prime regional urban markets. Underpinned by demographic changes, more flexible working patterns and higher housing costs in the capital, we expect this trend to continue. This suggests that emerging prime urban locations will mature while prime urban neighbourhoods in established locations will expand over the next decade, shaping the nature of the retail and recreational offering in the process.

^{Source: Savills Research using Land Registry and 2011 Census}

^{▲ Exeter has seen a substantial increase in average sale price over five years}

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