The Country House Comeback?

Over the last decade or more, it seems the country house has become a little less sought after than it once was. Many buyers have decided they want city living, with schools and restaurants within walking distance, and perhaps somewhere smaller to ‘lock and leave’ right on the water’s edge with the associated lifestyle.

It wasn’t always that way. Back in the 1980’s the classic country house was a status symbol of success, and every City banker worth his salt aspired to one. If you owned a big pad in the country, you had quite obviously made it! And yet, really since the financial crisis, these properties have been largely harder to sell than their urban or waterside counterparts. Perhaps it is the maintenance and associated costs of grounds and a large building, or the fact that one needs to drive to do anything. Perhaps it is that those successful people who can afford one, would rather spend time travelling to warmer climes, and keep their base in London.

But pretty much everything is cyclical, and it may be that the lockdown we have all experienced could well be the catalyst for the comeback of the country house buyer. After all, when one lives in the country with a few acres for the children to run feral, and space for a tennis court, pool, kitchen garden and some chickens, then a lockdown surely seems like some kind of forced idyll. You could even get your own water supply from a bore hole, and a ground source heat pump for heating and hot water. And nowadays there will probably be a wonderful organic farm shop just down the road, and perhaps even a gastro-pub doing take-away Sunday lunch during lockdowns?

What’s more, as demand for the country house has waned, so prices have adjusted, so much so that one might say they now look great value. So if you value space and privacy over convenience, then those country houses are looking like a lot of bang for the buck right now. But it probably won’t stay that way for ever…