Farmhouses hold value but supply set to increase

Most farmhouses held their value in the three months to September in an otherwise uncertain housing market.

While values have generally been resilient over the summer, there is no clear pattern and some sought after areas such as Chippenham, Wiltshire, and Kendal, Cumbria, saw 8% and 7% reductions, says Carter Jonas, which compiles a Farmhouse Index to compare relative values for a typical farmhouse.

The index is for a 4200sq ft farmhouse in good order, with five bedrooms, a three-bay garage, five stables, a range of domestic outbuildings, and around 2ha (5 acres) of land. This “typical” farmhouse has been valued as if sited in a prime village location, with no immediate development angle.

“We are expecting to see an increase in the number of farmhouses coming to the market throughout the remainder of 2010 and into early next year. For some purchasers, this may mean the opportunity to negotiate favourable terms,” said Catherine Penman, head of research at Carter Jonas.

The range of values still shows massive variance across the country for essentially the same property, from £900,000 close to Huddersfield, Yorkshire, to £2.5m near Andover, Hampshire.

Newbury, Berkshire, registered a slight increase in value in the third quarter of the year, rising 4.4% to £2.35m. Although activity had been slower, the market had been buoyed by a real shortage of good quality stock.

Three of 18 offices reported a 6% drop in value compared to the second quarter, with Basingstoke, Hampshire, showing the sharpest fall at 11% to a value of £2m, primarily due to an increase in the number of houses coming to the market in that area.