When Alex and his family relocated from Balham, south London to the picturesque village of Longstock in Hampshire’s Test Valley, they were fortunate enough to be able to purchase his wife’s parents’ house. Originally, they had planned to make the move when their eldest child reached Year 3 at school, but due to the pandemic, they decided to move two years earlier in 2021. The main reason for their move was to gain more space and a larger garden.
“If we hadn’t been able to buy this house, we would have been in the same situation as other families from London, desperately searching for a home in the area,” says Alex, who preferred not to share his last name. At that time, there was a surge of people from the city looking to move to local villages, resulting in fierce competition and limited options. “We’ve seen a lot of compromises and heartache.”
However, the current turmoil in the mortgage market is causing frustration for prospective buyers. Cancelled deals and rising interest rates have disrupted plans and forced many to reconsider their budgets. Some are also anticipating a drop in house prices. “With higher mortgage rates, there are fewer new buyers in the market, but sellers are reluctant to adjust their prices, leading to a stalemate,” explains Rob Fanshawe from buying agent Property Vision. He predicts a significant correction in prices, bringing them back to pre-pandemic levels by subtracting the 15-20% increase caused by the Covid bubble.
The Test Valley, named after the nearby river Test, is renowned for its clear chalk streams and charming villages filled with thatched cottages. It is a destination sought after by anglers from around the world, including former US president George HW Bush who once caught an 8lb trout near the town of Stockbridge. Stockbridge, the heart of the area, offers not just beautiful scenery but also good coffee, quality restaurants, art galleries, craft fairs, and a food festival called Trout ‘n About every August. For those in need of a city fix, Winchester is just a 20-minute drive away.
Since their move to the Test Valley, Alex has become self-employed and works from home almost all the time, while his wife commutes twice a week from Micheldever station. Many other parents in the area have a similar arrangement. They rely heavily on their car for transportation but are fortunate to have a school just five minutes away by car.
A major draw for many parents in the area is Farleigh School, a highly popular Catholic prep school near Andover. Lindsay Johnn from agent Strutt & Parker says that she frequently hears the word “Farleigh” from homebuyers. Most of these buyers come from the west or southwest of London, seeking a five-bedroom period house in a quiet village with a budget ranging from £1.75mn to £2.25mn. Desirable villages within a 20-minute drive of the school include Longstock, Wherwell, Chilbolton, Upper Clatford, and the Wallops. However, the shortage of detached family homes in the area has created a backlog in demand. Camilla Elwell from Savills’ country house department explains that around 40% of potential buyers in the area are currently renting and waiting for the right opportunity to buy.
The lack of available family homes has contributed to slightly higher price increases in the Test Valley compared to the national average since the start of the pandemic. According to Savills Research using Land Registry data, the average sold price in the Test Valley increased by nearly 26% from £358,013 in 2019 to £450,841 in 2022. However, the market has slowed down since then, with transactions down by 30% in 2022. In the first three months of 2023, the average sold price dipped further to £433,816. Despite the overall slowdown, the proportion of homes sold for over £1mn has increased from 2% to 5% since the start of the pandemic. In some areas, such as Andover, the average price is much higher below the £1mn mark. The most expensive parishes in the Test Valley saw an average house price of over £800,000 during the 12 months leading up to March, according to Savills. Even a small thatched cottage in the area would typically cost nearly £500,000, though there was recently a price reduction on a two-bedroom house in Longstock to £475,000.
Finding a period four-bedroom house in the most desirable villages for less than £1mn has been challenging, but that may be changing. Stockbridge, in particular, has seen a decline in activity in recent months. In June, only 34% of properties on the market in Stockbridge were under offer or sold, compared to 61% a year ago, according to PropCast data.
Lucy Townsend, owner of the Greyhound on the Test gastropub in Stockbridge, has noticed fewer homes for sale in the area recently. She has been living nearby since 2004 and has witnessed an increase in people moving from London. However, she emphasizes that the community still maintains its farming roots, which is why she and her family chose to move there instead of the Surrey commuter belt. Townsend mentions that many of her employees own homes in Andover, which is approximately 10km from her pub. The average property price in Andover in the past year was £349,987, about the same as the average price of new-build family homes built to accommodate the area’s major employers, including Le Creuset, Ocado, and the British Army.
During the summer months, three-quarters of Townsend’s customers are fly fishermen. Fishing in the area experienced a surge in demand during the pandemic, according to Simon Cooper, who facilitates fishing trips for international visitors and local anglers through his company Fishing Breaks. After growing up in the area, Cooper now lives in a converted mill in Nether Wallop. He explains that people have had more free time to fish and enjoy the sport.
For Nikki Denée and her husband Hugo, moving from Wandsworth in southwest London to Longstock was driven by their love for fly fishing and their desire to enroll their children in Farleigh School. They now live in a six-bedroom home with a riverbank where they can fish right in their backyard. Denée, who runs a travel company called Osborne & Denée, expresses her adoration for the area and how it offers an idyllic life for their children. She appreciates that Stockbridge provides everything they need, from luxury items like cashmere to basic necessities like coffee.
Denée, who commutes to London one or two days a week, admits she doesn’t miss the city life. She enjoys meeting other mothers at school drop-offs and going for coffee with them, similar to her routine in Wandsworth. Alex has also found that newcomers in the area quickly form connections through the Farleigh school network and community events. He does miss the diverse restaurants, bars, and convenience of Deliveroo in London, but the social aspect of their life now revolves around gatherings at people’s homes.
However, Alex is aware that not everyone can afford a large house in the area, leading to a rural housing crisis where local wages don’t align with house prices. He mentions a neighbor’s son who can’t afford the rising rents and now lives in a static caravan on his employer’s land. Unfortunately, he won’t be able to afford a home in the village where he grew up.
For those considering the Test Valley as their new home, it’s worth noting that the fastest train times to London are… [information missing from content]
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