Country
This time last year we predicted that a testing time for the prime country house market lay ahead and our observations proved well founded.
We experienced a thin veneer of understandably cautious buyers and a distinct lack of sellers, with those that did venture onto the market often having completely unrealistic expectations of what their homes were worth. It was a testing time for putting together deals, save for some generational opportunities which were often snapped up.
Savills report prime country prices dropped by 3.9% over the course of 2025, but that only tells part of the story. In reality prices are probably down between 15% to 20% overall from some of the heady figures paid post Covid, with some areas achieving prices as much as 30% below their peak.
Take Devon and Cornwall, a market that thrives on second homeowners. It doesn’t benefit from the same amount of wealth as the Cotswolds and buyers in the far west are even more sensitive to paying a 5% second home surcharge on their stamp duty. That is coupled with ongoing double council tax for second homes, plus the new ‘mansion tax’ when it is introduced. Here the market over £2m has been decimated. By way of example, at the tail end of the year we acquired a beautiful small farm on Dartmoor for over 30% less than the seller had spent when buying the property in 2022, not even taking into account stamp duty and other fees - pretty brutal for the seller.
Percentage statistics often don’t tell the whole story though. Simply, we think prime country house prices are now broadly back at early 2019 levels.
If this all sounds rather depressing, there are plenty of signs of an improvement. Some of our team have been through these cycles several times since the 1980’s and it is a familiar story - a few years of exceptional growth, followed by a period where house prices are corrected before returning to longer periods of relative normality, with modest growth over a period of years.
There are clear and definite signs as we enter 2026 that there will be far greater activity this year. More buyers are registering with estate agents and many of them are motivated to get on and buy. Conversely more sellers are waking up to the reality that they need to price sensibly if they are actually going to sell.
Our prediction therefore is for more transactions but with prices remaining broadly stagnant. We are very aware there is probably a small window to snap up some really good deals before those opportunities disappear. At risk of stating the obvious we would caveat the above by noting – we live in extraordinary times and world events, or even a change to a much more left-wing prime minister, could turn everything on its head.
On the land front Strutt & Parker report that the price of arable farmland in England averaged £11,000 per acre in 2025, about 2% lower than in 2024.
The price of pastureland averaged £8,600 per acre, down 4%. There are strong regional variations though, with some achieving over £20,000 per acre.
London
If the market in the country has been challenging, for many Prime Central London (PCL) has been a veritable disaster.
International buyers drive the very top end of this market and we don’t need to explain how the landscape here has become so unfriendly. There continues to be an exodus of wealthy people from London, many choosing to cut ties altogether with the capital by selling up. Prices in PCL were down about 5% last year and over 20% in the last decade.
Broadly though there is now more certainty in the UK (even if people don’t like the new reality) coupled with more uncertainty globally. In an uncertain world there have always been those who acquire property in London as a place to park money and we have still been quietly building portfolios for some international clients. They remain the exception rather than the rule though and we expect PCL prices to continue to fall in 2026.
There is also a change of direction in where buyers are focusing. They are now more likely to choose areas like Bloomsbury or Fitzrovia than the likes of, say, Chelsea. Likewise, the gap between prices in Chelsea and locations from Fulham to Battersea to Islington has narrowed dramatically in the last few years.
The traditional hotspots are showing a lack of activity, not least because many owners do not need to sell in a challenging market whilst the climate has discouraged a lot of potential investors. Nevertheless, these areas are very resilient and usually the first to come back when the market improves. Our advice to buyers is to focus on prime areas like Belgravia, Kensington and Chelsea amongst others. There are some good opportunities out there, they just need a good buying agent to help find them!
