CapitalRise sees opportunities in prime outer London as buyers seek outside spaces
CapitalRise has highlighted opportunities in prime outer London, as the pandemic era prompts people to favour areas with more outside spaces.
The prime property lending platform cited a Savills survey which showed the prime outer London and Home Counties housing market continues to grow in popularity.
In June, high-end countryside properties valued at £5m and above recorded the strongest growth of any property type. During the second quarter of 2020, the high-value country house market saw growth of 1.2 per cent, even though the market was closed between March and mid-May.
Read more: CapitalRise founders up their stakes in platform following share issue
And for houses priced between £5m to £10m, the level of offers accepted was 182 cent higher than the five-year average.
CapitalRise cited market analysts who have repeatedly claimed that increased home working has played a large part in people moving to areas with more outside areas.
The platform hinted that the trend could continue too. It cited the Savills survey showing that over half (52 per cent) of workers do not want to return to a normal office set-up.
The activity in the prime property market reflects the wider housing market, with last month’s RICS UK Residential Survey showing that house prices reached a four-year high in August as buyers sought open spaces and took advantage of the stamp duty holiday.
Read more: CapitalRise raises more than £1m in Seedrs campaign to access future fund
“It was somewhat predictable that initial surveys indicate a desire to move into or towards the countryside, having been in lockdown for a good number of months people are becoming fidgety when living in the city,” said Nick Oakley, head of lending at CapitalRise.
“However, what doesn’t change overnight is peoples’ own infrastructure and support networks.
“The true litmus test will be surveys being undertaken today, now the schools are back, older children have returned to university and people are beginning to find a new balance of working from home as well as the office.”
Read more: CapitalRise unveils five new hires
CapitalRise also noted that the London prime central market is showing signs of recovery. It cited a Knight Frank survey that property prices in the area rose by 0.3 per cent in August.