Buying on a tight budget

As demand for smallholdings increases and prices continue to rise, is there a way to achieve your dream without forking out a fortune? In the first part of a new mini-series, Liz Shankland explores the possibilities

Anyone searching for a smallholding this year will have seen a big change in the market. Parcels of land in the countryside — with or without property — are being snapped up faster than ever before as an increasing number of people set their sights on living far from the bustle of urban life.

Right now anything in an attractive location that has a decent amount of outside space seems to be selling well — and for good money, too. Although property experts predict turbulent times ahead for the sale of conventional homes, it seems likely that smallholdings, along with land with development potential, will continue to be popular.

Not surprisingly some enterprising sellers have been hiking up their prices to cash in on the boom. Recent examples include a five-acre property in the north of England which, before the coronavirus lockdown restrictions were announced, had been on the market for months priced at £525,000. Once lockdown was lifted, it was re-advertised at £725,000, and it sold within days. At around the same time, property hunters in Somerset saw the price of one smallholding shoot up by an extra £300,000 — and again it sold.

As highlighted in Country Smallholding’s September issue, estate agents have reported record sales of rural properties, particularly those with several bedrooms or outbuildings suitable for conversion into workshops or home offices as more people have warmed to the idea of working remotely.