Estate values reflect power of location

31 March 2000




Estate values reflect power of location

LOCATION is always one of the most important considerations in property valuation and two estates now on the market valued at similar levels prove the point.

Hants is a very popular county for buyers in the market for a residential estate and guide prices reflect this with a premium often built in to the price accounting for its proximity to London.

Now a 537-acre estate near Whitchurch is for sale, guided at more than £4.75m for the whole by joint agents Lane Fox and FPDSavills. The Hurstbourne Park Estate includes a Victorian style seven-bedroom house in need of some modernisation and another eight dwellings which currently generate more than £36,000/year although a couple are occupied by protected tenants.

Most of the land is grade II listed parkland and about 220 acres are eligible for arable area aid.

Shooting days

Also the estate with some adjoining land provides 11 days of pheasant and partridge shooting with bags averaging 150 birds/day.

However, the agents have lotted the estate into four splitting the house and 189 acres of parkland separately with most of the remaining acreage, 321 acres available as a block of bare land. The other properties – five of which centre around a traditional stable block with a range of farm buildings and 23 acres complete the lotting.

"Despite the lotting, the vendor is very keen for the estate to sell as a whole," said Richard Brooks, Lane Fox.

Further west in Devon, The Whiteway Estate, Chudleigh, near Exeter, is guided by Knight Frank and Strutt & Parker at offers ranging from in the region of £4.5m to £6.5m due to the vendors willingness to sell most of the contents to a purchaser.

Most of the land, 659 acres, is let on a long lease to Forest Enterprise but the estate has the sporting rights and about 10 days of mixed duck and pheasant shooting are held a season. Providing stalking opportunities the estate has fallow and roe deer herds.

Accommodation at Whiteway is dominated by a recently renovated grade II listed nine-bedroom house but another nine properties are included in the sale. These, with the farm business tenancy on the land and farm buildings, generate about £61,500/year.


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