Buying a house close to one of Britain’s many stately homes can cost, on average, £41,000 more than in neighbouring areas, according to the latest research from Halifax.
The average house price in an area with a stately home was £319,203 in May 2015, compared to an average of £277,990 in the counties with stately homes in the survey – a premium of £41,213 (15%).
House prices command a premium relative to the surrounding area in 54 of the 71 stately homes covered in this survey. Homes close to Kenwood House in Hampstead Heath currently command the highest premium of £770,023 (120%) in cash terms, followed by Ham House in Richmond upon Thames (£513,918 or 116%) and Ightham Mote in Sevenoaks (£231,230 or 82%).
Outside southern England the areas with stately homes commanding the highest premiums are Tabley House, Tatton Park and Peover Hall and Gardens – all in Knutsford in Cheshire – with an average house price premium of £181,517 (83%).
In total, there are 14 areas with stately homes where properties trade at an average premium of at least £150,000. They include Winterbourne House & Garden in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham (£162,551 or 91%), Highclere Castle (setting of the TV drama Downton Abbey) in Newbury (£155,532 or 44%) and Chatsworth House in Bakewell (£154,063 or 89%).
Owners of properties in areas close to Britain’s many stately homes have seen the value of their home rise by an average of £89,506 over the past decade, from £229,697 in 2005 to £319,203 in 2015. The 39% increase in the average property price is equivalent to a monthly rise of £746.
In cash terms, the average price growth of £89,506 in areas with stately homes is more than twice the national increase of £39,311 (22%), which has grown from £178,016 to £217,328 in 2015.
Average house prices in nearly all stately home areas in this survey have increased in the past decade. The largest price growth was in the area of Kenwood House (£822,810 or 140%), followed by Ham House (£451,123 or 89%), and Hatfield House in Hatfield (£228,367 or 71%).
The only area to record a fall in average price since 2005 is Coleraine in Northern Ireland, home to Downhill House and Mussenden Temple, (£12,977 or -10%).
However, there are 17 areas with stately homes where properties trade at a discount to neighbouring areas. The largest discount compared to average house prices is around Wimpole Hall in Royston, where prices are typically around £50,000 (-13%) lower than in the county of Hertfordshire. This is followed by Saltram House in Plymouth (£40,903 or -18%), and Osborne House on the Isle of Wight (£32,071 or 16%), which was once a Royal residence until the death of Queen Victoria there in 1901.
Homes close to Kenwood House in Hampstead Heath are the most expensive in this survey, with an average price of £1,409,102. Kenwood House is followed by the area surrounding Ham House in Richmond upon Thames (£956,040); Hatfield House in Hatfield (£549,654) and the area around Ightham Mote in Sevenoaks (£514,572).
Property values in the areas around Auckland Castle in Bishop Auckland are the lowest in this survey with an average house price of £104,391. The next lowest are in the areas around the Argory in Dungannon in Northern Ireland (£119,967) and Llancaiach Fawr Manor in Treharris in Wales (£120,115).
Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: “Stately homes are not only attractive place to visit but, as our research shows, desirable places to live near to. Since 2005 the average house price growth in areas close to stately homes has been more than double the national figure.
“It can cost home buyers, on average, £41,000 extra to live nearby to a stately home compared to neighbouring areas.”
