Research examines property values near UK's finest gardens
With the Chelsea Flower Show underway, new research from Lloyds Bank looked at whether just being close to one of the nation’s finest gardens could add thousands to the value of a residential property.
The average price of homes neighbouring 50 of the country’s most notable gardens in 2022 is £466,912, a premium of £107,189 compared to the average house price for the counties they are in.
Properties in Chelsea, home of perhaps the most celebrated of the Royal Horticultural Society’s shows and London’s oldest botanical gardens – Chelsea Physic Garden, created the biggest buzz – attracted a county premium of 276%.
“Chelsea, which has long been one of the most desirable suburbs of the capital, not only benefits from its association with the RHS flower show but is also home to the country’s oldest botanical gardens,” Jo Harris, managing director at Lloyds Bank, said.
“Where the external space with homes is limited, having these show gardens close by provides an attractive alternative.”
Brockhole Garden, in Windermere, garnered the second highest premium of 161%, £338,528 more than the Cumbria average. Third were homes in the vicinity of RHS Bridgewater, Worsley, which are on average 144%, £295,780, higher than Lancashire as a whole.
The prices of homes in several ‘garden towns’ outgrew the UK average by significant margins over the last year. Those shooting up most were in Worsley, (RHS Bridgewater), where the cost of the average home reached £500,848, harvesting owners a £132,383 rise (36%), compared to an average increase across England and Wales of 5% (£16,465) to £348,317.
Three further towns bedded in next to exhibition gardens also saw prices sprout by more than 20%. Prices in Stourhead Gardens, Warminster, rose by 22% to £382,808. Maidstone, home of Leeds Castle, saw an increase of 22% to £525,195, while house hunters in Wellington must now stump up 20% more than a year ago, with homes near Cothay Manor Gardens cropping up at an average of £428,329.
Only five of the 50 ‘garden towns’ saw average house prices not blooming compared to their county average. Osborne House, East Cowes, saw the biggest gap with average house prices of £228,187, 24% (£70,233) lower than that for the Isle of Wight (£298,420).
This was followed by Sherborne Castle & Gardens, Sherborne, Dorset with prices of £322,514, 16% below the county average; RHS Rosemoor, Torrington, 11% below the Devon average; and Alnwick Garden, Alnwick, 10% below Northumberland, and Wollerton Old Hall Garden, Wollerton, at 2% below the county average for Shropshire.
Homes planted near notable gardens across the South of England attracted the highest prices, with those neighbouring Chelsea Physic Garden averaging £2,963,334, and those surrounding Kew Gardens, averaging £1,249,255.
Over the last 10 years, ‘garden towns’ in the North of England and Wales have seen their house
prices flourish most.
Since 2012, prices in Knutsford, site of Tatton Park, have shot up 125% to £673,110 (+£374,286) compared to a 50% rise to £348,317 (+£116,304) for homes across England and Wales. The next biggest growers were Windermere (Brockhole Garden) and Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Anglesey (Plas Newydd House and
Garden) with increases of 121% and 97% respectively.
“While homes surrounding Chelsea Physic Garden might be seen as the cream of the crop - attracting both the highest prices and the biggest county premium, the majority of those areas with the highest premiums were near gardens across the North and Midlands, like Brockhole Garden in Cumbria or RHS Bridgewater near Manchester,” Harris noted.
