The pandemic has brought a boom for Chippenham home-owners, with house prices rocketing by approaching 20 per cent – due to demand from Londoners wanting to leave the capital and work from home in the countryside.
Chippenham estate agents Allen & Harris have revealed that the new culture of working from home that has been caused by the spread of Covid-19 spells dividends for those wanting to sell homes in the town and in the surrounding villages.
Such is the soaring demand from people wanting to live in Chippenham that house prices have risen by 18.1 per cent since 2020 – almost three times the UK average increase of 6.2 per cent.
According to calculations by the Halifax, Chippenham is now ranked fourth in the nationwide league of places with the highest growth in house prices over the last year.
The Halifax reported that the price of the average home in Chippenham is now £381,181, up by £58,322 during the past 12 months – an increase in value of £1,121 per week and the largest cash increase of any town in Britain.
Michelle Hallas, of Allen & Harris, explained that the big surge in demand to live in or around Chippenham is a silver lining side-effect of the changes in the way of life caused by reactions to the pandemic.
She said: “The main reason is that people don’t have to go to the office every day anymore, because of the pandemic, and so a lot of people are re-locating from London to Chippenham and the villages around it because it has such good rail and motorway links, which is great if you only have to go to the office once or twice a month.”
Although London house prices have fallen by up to 6.9 per cent, those leaving the capital can still get much more for their money as the median price for a three-bedroom home there is £775,000, according to home.co.uk
And even though the choice of Chippenham’s shops does not match the variety of London stores, the town is still very attractive because of its easy access to shopping in Bath, Bristol and Swindon.
“Another reason for the demand to live in Chippenham is the local schools, which have really good Ofsted ratings,” said Michelle.
“Plus, many people living in London are stuck in apartments with no outside space – whereas here you can homes with gardens.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel