Local property is perfectly placed to ride the WFH wave
Wed 05 Jan 2022
Melton Mowbray and the surrounding rural district are perfectly placed to capitalise on lifestyle changes sought by homebuyers from London and the South East who are fortunate enough to be able to work from home (WFH) now and into the future.
That’s the view of residential professionals at Shouler & Son as the new year housing market gets underway and the estate agent launches its new crop of property instructions in the first weeks of January.
According to the agent, properties in the villages, market towns and hamlets of rural Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire have a lot more than just value for money in appealing to urban office exiles.
The availability of - and access to - good schools is a top priority for house hunters with families. The area is fortunate in having a number of high performing state schools, as well as the high profile private schools.
The Melton Mowbray area has much to recommend it when it comes to quality of life considerations appearing on homebuyers’ checklists – something that many indigenous homeowners in the area can take for granted.
The area scores well for fine dining, with highly rated restaurants in Wymeswold, Burrough on the Hill and Hambleton among others. In addition, in Melton itself, there are leisure facilities including gyms, swimming bath, cinema and theatre.
Many London West End or City-based office employers are moving towards ‘hybrid-working’ - that is a combination of WFH and ‘at office’ days across a weekly, or fortnightly, pattern.
Again, the rural East Midlands area’s advantageous position within the country’s rail and road network boosts its desirability to in appealing to former daily commuters.
Regular mainline trains from Grantham railway station give direct access to London King’s Cross, and other train operators provide non-mainline services which connect other towns in this area to networks arriving at London St Pancras.
The A1 is one of the UK’s main trunk roads and it provides a major spine through Rutland and Lincolnshire, with onward road connections to all compass points linking the whole country, including key airport hubs.
Ultimately, as Shouler & Son’s residential agents admit, the Melton Mowbray area appeals because it offers good value for money when it comes to square footage, four walls, a roof, a garden and the kind of living spaces many house buyers are looking for now.
Dan Barradale, associate, Shouler & Son, concludes, “With the average house price in the East Midlands having risen by 6.6 per cent last year, word is out among the WFH house hunters of 2022 about just what our area has to offer.
“Most people in this market are looking for four or five bedroom, detached homes and these requirements are fuelling particular property hotspots in our area’s most desirable village and countryside locations – with a consequent uplift in prices trickling through to the area’s other housing stock.
“WFH - whether as employees or self-employed - has, throughout the last year, in particular, embedded itself as the latest driving force behind this region’s local housing markets.
“We can see no reason for the WFH influence to wane this year either.”
To talk to Shouler & Son about your property requirements or for a marketing appraisal of your home, contact Shouler & Son, tel 01664 560181, email d.barradale@shoulers.co.uk or through the website shoulers.co.uk.