London buyers keen on Shropshire country homes

A survey has shown a two-bedroom flat in central London would currently set buyers back around £1.1 million.

That would, quite literally, buy a small mansion in Shropshire.

But in the capital, it will provide you just one reception room and a bathroom in Kensington, not far from Hyde Park.

Estate agents Foxton, which covers London and the South East, puts the average property price in the capital at £1,178, 760. The average price of a flat is £1,061,106 while a typical house will sell for £2,482,459.

The seven-figure price tags put the properties out of the reach of many would-be homeowners. But those willing to look further afield and who don't need to commute could become lord of a magnificent country manor for a fraction of the price of a simple apartment in the capital.

And estate agents in the county say they are seeing an upsurge of interest, with sales generally up more than four per cent.

According the latest statistics, the average property price in Shropshire is a comparative snip at £202,452. The average detached house fetches £265,4676 while a semi goes for £164,258.

Flats, on average, sell for £129,3200 while terraced houses are £155,255.

Tim Main, head of sales at estate agents Balfours, said he is seeing more inquiries from the capital, adding: "It is all about the way of life people want to lead. If they want to work 14 hours-a-day and at a high-speed pace, they choose London, if they can afford it. That contrasts with Shropshire's beautiful, rolling countryside.

Mr Main said that for the £1.1 million price of a London flat, buyers had a host of spectacular properties in the county to choose from.

Examples include a seven-bedroom house near Nescliffe on the market for under £900,000 – the home of former Wolves goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.

Mr Main said for about £650,000 was an attractive stone farmhouse full of character in an idyllic location with a two-bedroom holiday cottage and four acres of land in Wall-Under-Heywood, Church Stretton.

Rural pads half the price of a London flat:

The Firs, in Lydbury North: A fine home on offer in Shropshire for half the price of a two-bedoom London flat is a former vicarage near Bishop's Castle.

The Firs, in Lydbury North dates back to 1588.

When it was first built it was the village vicarage but The Firs has been home to the present occupants for the past nine years.

The building has been extended, renovated and modernised, and is on the market through the Ludlow office of estate agent Strutt and Parker.

The agents say: "The Firs, which is on the market for offers around £490,000, was highlighted nationally this week (in the Daily Mail) as a bargain priced alternative to London living"

Originally used as a bedroom, the drawing room has an en-suite shower room, allowing for future flexibility of use.

The kitchen-breakfast room provides a good range of oak units with integrated appliances to include a fridge, freezer, dishwasher and Rayburn stove, and further storage as well as space for appliances available in the utility room.

A conservatory and a rear porch have been added.

There are three bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor and the barns and stable block have previously had planning permission for a two-bedroom bungalow.

The garden, meanwhile, is said to have been "beautifully landscaped to complement the property's immaculate interior".

Beyond the barns, there is a vegetable and fruit garden with a greenhouse, while to the east is a small orchard.

Bowdlers House, in Woolstaston: A house in south Shropshire which dates back to the 14th century and was once a blacksmith's forge is on the market for offers around £600,000.

Bowdlers House, in the hamlet of Woolstaston, near Church Stretton, still boasts many historical features.

It is of timber frame and part-cruck construction, with alterations and partial remodeling having taken place throughout the 16th and 19th Centuries, as well as a more recent extension.

Some of the original workings can be found in the impressive entrance hall from the days when it was a forge.

The house features a hall, sitting room, dining room, kitchen, utility room, cloakroom, four bedrooms, a bathroom, shower room and an integral, one-bedroom, self-contained annexe.

There are also courtyard outbuildings and there is parking and a garden.

On the first floor there are the bedrooms, bathroom and separate shower room and a door from one of the bedrooms leads through to a galleried landing overlooking the entrance hall and its magnificent chimney breast.

A further staircase rises from the entrance hall to a double aspect room which would make another bedroom.

The annexe, with its sitting room and kitchenette, together with a double bedroom and bathroom

can either be incorporated with the main house, or used as guest accommodation if required.

Woolstaston is in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and enjoys panoramic views over the South Shropshire Hills.