UK Property News

North Hampshire has some fabulous choices for families seeking schooling for their children in the triangle formed by Andover, Newbury, and Basingstoke. Equally, it has a superb choice of lettings properties for families moving into or around the area.

A perfect example is Maple Ridge (£2,600 per month, EPC Band D) at Hurstbourne Tarrant, with excellent travel links in all directions for parents committed to both the school run and a daily commute via Whitchurch. With five bedrooms, it is an excellent family base.

Downstairs there is a good-sized eat-in kitchen leading to the conservatory overlooking the garden. The large drawing room has French windows to the rear, and bi-fold doors through to the dining room. There is a further study and playroom with French windows on to the terrace plus excellent utility and boot rooms and downstairs w.c. The first floor has a master bedroom with built-in wardrobes and en-suite shower room, two double bedrooms with a modern room, and two further smaller doubles and a family bathroom.

In nearby Stoke, The Old Post House (£2,250 EPC D) is a beautifully-presented period detached house. It has an attractively finished country kitchen / family / breakfast / sitting room with partial under-floor heating plus a utility room, well-proportioned drawing room with open fire, family room, hall / study, good-sized downstairs bathroom and separate w.c. Upstairs are three double bedrooms and one single, all with wardrobes, plus a second family bathroom. The south-west facing rear garden is mainly lawn with raised beds and a lovely terrace – the rent includes a weekly gardener.

Underwood House (£2,600 EPC D), at Vernham Dean, has a good-size, light drawing room with fireplace, dining room, eat-in kitchen / breakfast room, and a great snug / study/ family room. The first floor offers three large double……

Attractive urban locations with strong transport links and good schools continue to outperform rural destinations, according to research by Savills.

Winchester is within the top five established prime locations, where house prices have the highest premium above the region average, along with Cambridge, Bath, St Albans, and Edinburgh.

The average sale price in 2015 was £471,000 (£692,000 for a detached property), representing a 28% increase over the last five years, and a 42% premium over the region average.

“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,” said Lindsay Johnn of Savills Winchester.

“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.

“Underpinned by demographic changes, more flexible working patterns and higher housing costs in the capital, we expect this trend to continue.” 

Savills Winchester is currently marketing the following properties in central Winchester:

3 Clifton Terrace is an impressive apartment on the middle floor of an elegant Grade II listed Victorian town house. The apartment, which has been significantly renovated over the last year, has a reception hall, drawing room, kitchen/breakfast room, store room, two double bedrooms, shower room, communal rear gardens and permit parking. Guide price: £575,000

1 Hyde Church Path is a modern semi-detached three-bedroom house in a tucked away area of Hyde. The house would benefit from some updating and provides a rare opportunity to secure a central location with parking. Guide price: £525,000

73 Tower Street……

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……