Hampshire Property News

Connells strikes Gold at Lettings Agency of the Year Awards

Local estate agency Connells in Winchester is celebrating after picking up two awards at the annual Lettings Agency of the Year Awards, held in association with The Sunday Times. At a gala ceremony at the London Lancaster Hotel, Connells picked up Gold in the National Lettings Agency of the Year category as well as Silver in the Property Management Agency of the Year category as part of the Connells Group.

In the Property Management Agency of the Year category, the judges commented that the Group “provides a transparent property management service with a firm grounding in ethics” through a strong team that is “fully committed to delivering outstanding customer service which is seriously impressive at this level of property management.”

In the National Lettings Agency of the Year category, the judges congratulated the Group for its excellence demonstrated through the systems and processes that it has in place and its “highly trained specialist staff…who can advise on all aspects of lettings”. The Group’s commitment to its people was also highlighted with the judges commenting that “employees feel confident (and) there is real evidence of investment in talent”.

“We are absolutely thrilled with our success at this year’s awards,” says Beverley Nias, Lettings Manager at Connells in Winchester.  “Being recognised as the number one national lettings agency in the UK is a huge accolade for us. Also, our recognition in the Property Management category highlights how we strive to provide a superior service to our customers and constantly innovate in this sector as we continue to grow and strengthen our business.”

Connells offers a range of lettings services and advice, from matching tenants to their ideal properties to full property management, rent collection and insurance advice. If you have……

New community at Winchester Village

The smart new development of Winchester Village on the south western fringes of the city is rapidly becoming the address of choice. The creative street scenes and superb range of homes all built to beautiful designs offer homes to suit all and as a result a new community is now becoming established.

Residents here can take advantage of the regular bus services into the city centre as part of the park and ride scheme and there are local shops at Oliver’s Battery as well as a supermarket at Badger Farm. The Clarendon Way is easily accessible which gives access to a network of footpaths around farmland and through countryside and a link to the M3 is within a few minutes’ drive.

Just available on the rental market is this fine example of a smart new apartment located on the ground floor and with communal landscaping and allocated parking.

From the entrance hall doors open to a lovely bright living space where the modern kitchen, complete with a full range of integrated appliances, is at one end with plenty of space for dining and relaxing. There are two bedrooms, a double with a large built-in wardrobe, and a single room which share the smart bathroom.

Goadsby asks a monthly rent of £1,100 and all enquiries should be directed to the Winchester office on 01962 620444.…

Natural light a strong feature

At this handsome terraced house in central Winchester, there is natural light in abundance, shining through large windows in most of the rooms. This feature, together with a neutral colour palette, high ceilings, cornicing and pretty fireplaces, combine to create a wonderful living environment. Here in Eastgate Street, a host of good restaurants, bars, shops, galleries, theatres and cinema are all within walking distance and the train station is just at the top of the High Street.

A pathway and a couple of stone steps lead up to the front door which opens to the entrance hall. From here there are doors to the lovely dining room with its open fireplace, and the well fitted kitchen which has lovely tall windows overlooking the rear garden.

Over the lower ground floor there is a utility area and versatile rooms currently arranged as a study and a bedroom with French doors to the garden.

The main sitting room lies on the first floor taking in the large window across the front elevation and the extravagant family bathroom is on this floor with a four piece suite including a roll top bath.

Two further bedrooms are arranged over the top floors.

From the rear hall a door opens to the pretty courtyard garden where there are raised beds and a pedestrian gate at the rear.

Allocated parking at the rear of the house is a real bonus and Winkworth in Winchester strongly recommends those interested in the house to get in touch without delay. A monthly rent of £2,000 is asked and enquiries should be directed to Winkworth on 01962 866777.…

Strutt & Parker’s latest Housing Futures survey, with over 2,600 respondents from across the UK, gives an interesting insight into the housing desires of the British population.

The research takes a look at the differing responses received from men and women to see how much they varied and if any trends emerged.

When asked to rate their motivations for moving home, the top five choices were the same for both sexes – lifestyle, privacy, broadband connections and proximity to shops: 

However, when you look beyond these top five options, men and women’s priorities seem to shift. For men, some of the next most important motivations were retirement and looking for a smaller home. In contrast, women were more concerned about better schools, mobile phone coverage, and living near family and friends.

Jake Civardi, Partner in Winchester, said: “Our analysis shows again this year that men and women have many similarities yet also differences regarding their wants and needs for a future home. Men tend to seek solutions for work flexibility – garden offices and work spaces whilst women are looking for career changes, schools and expanding households. Men are also more interested in views over water, whether that be rivers, lakes or sea. The sexes are aligned when it comes to village lifestyle being number one, the imperative for connectivity through broadband and mobile coverage and the need for a well-insulated and energy efficient home.”

A number of other differences were observed:

* Men seem to prefer rural locations to the city. London does not feature in the top 5 regions for men, whereas it was the third most popular location for women in terms of places they’d like to move to. Only 6% of men wanted to live in London in the future.

* Villages were the highest desired……

At the heart of the village

Located in the heart of Ovington opposite the church, The Old Rectory is a beautiful Grade II Listed period house. Boasting well proportioned family accommodation of the highest quality the property sits well within spacious south facing gardens in this beautiful location in the Itchen Valley.

An elegant reception hall welcomes visitors to this beautiful home and three formal reception rooms are all superbly proportioned. The family living space centres around the excellent kitchen which has a breakfast room on one side and French doors opening to a wonderful conservatory on the other, extending to almost 30’ and also connecting with the dining room. Off the rear hall is a utility room, cloakroom and walk-in store. Steps lead down from the hall to the basement which could be utilised for either a games room or study.

On the first floor is a most impressive master bedroom suite with large adjoining bathroom with separate shower. There are four further double bedrooms on this floor and a further bathroom. From the landing a secondary staircase rises to two attic rooms, one of which has an adjoining bathroom.

The property is approached over a gravel driveway which leads along the northern side of the property to a parking and turning area to the rear, adjacent to a detached double garage and stabling. The gardens lie predominantly to the southern side of the house and are the perfect setting with mature planting and with views towards the church.

The village of Ovington, which is in the South Downs National Park, is surrounded by magnificent open countryside and is famed for its chalk stream trout fishing, excellent walking and riding. The nearby market town of Alresford provides shopping and recreational facilities, with the city of Winchester with……

Fantastic townhouse adjacent to the Arbour

Forming part of an exclusive conversion of a former Victorian hospital close to the centre of Winchester, this fantastic townhouse offers versatile accommodation perfect for a permanent home, or city bolt hole. Converted in 2003 and believed to date back to the 1830s, the property has retained its original character with tall ceilings and large sash windows which combine to create a light and airy atmosphere.

Arranged over three floors, the house has a bright kitchen/breakfast room with lovely French doors opening to the south facing courtyard garden. The room is well fitted and through the summer months it is easy to imagine spilling out into the paved garden to enjoy alfresco meals. On the other side of the entrance hall is a dining room or study which has windows to the front and rear. There is also a ground floor cloakroom.

The wide staircase rises to the first floor where the sitting room has sash windows to the front and rear and on the opposite side of the landing is a bedroom with its own shower room.

The largest bedroom lies on the top floor from where there are lovely views from this elevated position over the grounds and beyond the city towards the Downs. The third bedroom looks across to the Arbour and there is a shared bathroom between these rooms.

An area of garden at the front is enclosed by railings and this is an ideal low maintenance arrangement which is the perfect backdrop for seasonal plants in pots. The larger courtyard at the rear has the sunny aspect and again has been designed with minimal maintenance for an easy lifestyle.

The house has an allocated parking space and there is visitor parking within the development.

An appointment to……