Five of Hampshire’s towns make the ‘Britain’s Richest Towns’ list which was compiled by Savills and based on the average property price in the area.
At Goosechase we know how popular Hampshire is with those of you moving out of the hustle and bustle of city life looking for a pretty area with good schools, good houses and good shopping. Property prices have been boosted by Londoners looking for a better way of life but still having easy access to the capital. The commute to work is easy and many are able to work at home part time.
The list shows that the top ten is dominated by not only commuter but second home hotspots. The New Forest towns of Lyndhurst and Brockenhurst both make the top 10, and the report shows that second home favourite spots have outperformed the market over the last five years.
Our counties entries are as follows:
No 5. LYNDHURST
Average price: £515,803
Outperforms surrounding area by: 98%
Sales over £500,000: 32%
Five-year price increase: 115 %
Lyndhurst has become hugely popular. It has a pre-war gentility about it, with an excellent butcher who sells local meat, tea-rooms, a local produce market one Sunday a month, and cricket on Swan Green in the summer against a backdrop of thatched and whitewashed cottages. City couples forced here by pony-mad daughters can compensate themselves with the promise of a boat on Southampton Water, and the knowledge that they can zip back to London’s Waterloo in 75 minutes by train.
No 7 BROCKENHURST
Average price: £496,263
Outperforms surrounding area by: 90 %
Sales over £500,000: 35%
Five-year price increase: 42 %
More of a village, yet with the communications of a modern town and the sea tantalisingly close, Brockenhurst is vibrant and pretty and has a successful sixth-form college. Fast trains from Weymouth stop here, pause for breath at Southampton and Winchester, then pelt for Waterloo without stopping. Beaulieu is the local millionaires’ village, dominated by Lord Montague’s home, the National Motor Museum and huge houses along the Beaulieu River which sell for millions. The Beaulieu estate still owns the exclusive Buckler’s Hard yacht harbour, perfectly positioned almost opposite Cowes.
No 15 STOCKBRIDGE
Average price: £454,037
Outperforms surrounding area by: 74%
Sales over £500,000: 35%
Five-year price increase: 44%
A highly desirable and traditional market town, and the richest pocket near Winchester, Stockbridge is a trophy town. The Grosvenor Hotel at the centre of the town juts out its grandiose porch and is home to the exclusive Houghton Fishing Club, which has some of the best and most expensive fishing in England. The wide High Street is still England as it used to be, with a superb butcher and other good local shops.
No 49 LYMINGTON
Average price: £312,674
Outperforms surrounding area by: 20%
Sales over £500,000: 11%
Five-year price increase: 50%
An exquisite filling in a millionaires’ sandwich, Lymington sits between the sought-after wilderness of the New Forest and the yachtsman’s playground of The Solent. Charming Georgian houses in pretty yellows, pinks and blues line the cobbled streets. There are two large marinas, two sailing clubs and the Old Town Quay where the fishing fleet still ties up. Two railway stations and a ferry to the Isle of Wight ensure it is well connected. The town has a great mix of high street shops with plenty of independents thrown in.
No 50 FLEET
Average price: £307,268
Outperforms surrounding area by: 18%
Sales over £500,000: 12%
Five-year price increase: 27%
Fleet is the pretty cousin of army-dominated Aldershot, and part of Hart which was voted as the country’s most desirable place to live for quality of life for the second year in a row! Fleet is only a breath away from the M3 as it snakes towards Staines. It is also on the main Southampton to London railway. All the dimpled loveliness of Hampshire and the North Downs lies at its doorstep. Fleet Pond gives it a beauty spot of its own. In the old days, when it used to freeze, special trains from London brought winter skaters here.
To view the full report click here