Forget the latest gadget – fresh air and mud have become the hottest property these days. The pandemic-induced race for space means bidding wars over country houses have become commonplace and in October, the share of rural homes sold over the asking price rocketed to the highest level since our records began.
This year, 29% of country homes have been the subject of bidding wars, which we define as having a sale agreed after receiving an offer from three or more buyers. In 2019, only 17% of country properties attracted multiple bids before they sold.
And the more remote you go, the fiercer the battle has become: there were bidding wars over 23% of homes sold in rural towns in 2021 and over 24% of properties in rural villages, but in remote rural areas, this figure soared to 46%.
The scramble for big homes with plenty of space, large gardens and no neighbours has pushed the number of rural homes sold over their asking price to the highest level since we started tracking the data in 2009. In October this year, 40% of rural homes sold above their asking price, up from 18% in the same month in 2020 and 15% in October 2019. By contrast, a decade ago, in October 2011, only 10% of rural homes changed hands for more than the asking amount.
It is important to note that bidding wars aren’t only a feature of the country market. The shortage of stock for sale nationally means the proportion of properties in urban areas that are subject to bidding wars has also been rising steadily. In 2021, 31% of homes in towns attracted multiple bidders, up from 23% in 2019. And in cities, 32% of sellers received multiple bids from buyers this year, a rise from 27% in 2019.
While sellers of properties out in the sticks may be rubbing their hands with glee, there are question marks over how sustainable this rural renaissance really is, especially now that workers are being called into the office more regularly and Covid-19 lockdowns are – hopefully – a thing of the past. All eyes are on whether the country market starts cooling down from now on.
