As the first UK-wide lockdown sparked a rush for larger homes with gardens, new research from Andrews Property Group reveals the top towns and cities in the UK if you want a property with outside space.
The firm looked at properties currently listed for sale across more than 100 major towns and cities in the UK, and what percentage of those properties have a garden.
Gardens are now top of many buyers’ wish lists since we came out of lockdown and home working became the norm. And competition is likely to be fierce for any properties with decent-sized gardens, as fears grow that the Government will announce a second lockdown.
According to the latest property listings, Chesterfield in the East Midlands, is the UK's greenest town, with 90.6% listed for sale having a garden. This compares to just 44.8% of current property stock in Gateshead in the North East, which is now under local lockdown.
The research reveals that 33% of properties for sale in major towns and cities don’t have a garden; although that still leaves two-thirds of homes on the market that do. However, there’s a huge variation between the top and bottom towns when it comes to the percentage of listings with outside space.
For example, looking at properties for sale in the largest UK cities by population, Leeds is the greenest, with 78.3% of current listings having a garden, followed by Bristol (73.5%). However, just over half the property stock on the market in Liverpool (51.9%) and Manchester (52.7%), has any outside space.
In London, not surprisingly outer boroughs have more properties with gardens, with 78.9% of listings in Sutton having outside space compared to just 37.5% in Hackney.
David Westgate, group chief executive Andrews Property Group comments:
“Lockdown has changed how people view their homes and that goes for buyers and what they’re looking for in a property. The prospect of further waves of coronavirus and a shift towards home working has seen a decent outside space top many buyers’ wish lists.
“This causes issues though because not everyone wants to, or can move out of town to a more rural area where space is less restricted and there are more homes with gardens. Buyers are likely to face stiffer competition for quality properties with outside space if they live in one of the towns at the bottom of the league table, although our research didn’t look at the size of the outside space, and which towns have a larger stock of properties with big gardens.
“Buyers who are looking for properties with outside space should have a clear idea what they’re looking for; whether they want an acre of land and are happy to maintain it, or a small patio just so they have somewhere to sit and have a drink in the evening.
“Expectations should also be realistic. It’s unlikely properties in the centre of town will have substantial gardens, so buyers will probably need to look further out to find that dream property with a garden you can let the dog out to roam.”
