Home sellers strike it rich in two Shropshire settlements as city folk escape to the country

Albrighton and Ellesmere have been highlighted by GetAgent as places where sellers have been achieving well over their asking prices as buyers still compete for the best places to live.

The village of Albrighton sits in joint-third place on the list of the top 20 hot property locations while Ellesmere is in joint-fourth.

According to the data, sellers in Albrighton have been making 118 per cent of their asking prices while it is a point behind in Ellesmere at 117 per cent.

The top location in the list, Haltwhistle in Northumberland, has buyers stretching their budgets to a whopping 120 per cent of the asking prices.

With the average two-bed property in the UK being marketed with an asking price of £278,144, house sellers could see bids of up to £333,700 if they were to receive offers of 120 per cent - a staggering £55,600 more than the original price.

A spokesman for GetAgent said: "Properties that are in postcodes in in-demand areas, whether it’s near a fantastic school, close to good transport links or within easy reach of desirable areas such as the beach, could find themselves getting offers well above those being put forward in postcodes a mere 10 minutes' drive away."

At the other end of the scale some places - not in Shropshire - are struggling to get anywhere near asking prices.

Saundersfoot, in Pembrokeshire, Calver, in the Derbyshire Dales, and Blunsdon, in Swindon, top the lowest 20 list and make 80 per cent of asking prices.

Colby Short, co-founder and CEO of GetAgent said: “As experts in selling a home, we know how stressful it can be to find a buyer for your property. By sharing some of our own consumer data and the trends we’ve observed over the past year; we’re hoping we can provide house sellers with some valuable insight, and top tips, in what is often a very confusing and tense time.

"Living in a particular postcode can add thousands to your home’s value, whether that’s due to having prestigious schools - with catchment areas notoriously hard to get into - or even good transport links for commuters. Surprisingly, while you might assume that homes closer to the capital would fetch higher asking prices, our research actually shows that it’s countryside destinations that are topping the list of expensive postcodes.

"As we’ve seen a more hybrid way of working come into play over the past couple of years, it’s clear to see that there’s demand for homes in the countryside, and even remote areas of the UK, as people leave the city life for space further afield.

"Despite the turbulent year of 2022 having had an adverse effect on many homeowner’s selling prices, it’s been really positive to see that sellers in many areas of the UK were able to achieve significantly more than their original asking prices - with some northern areas of the country achieving up to 120 per cent of theirs.

"Similarly, our data showed that last year some house-sellers in the UK breezed through the selling process in an average of just 30 - 50 days, showing that it’s still very achievable to find the perfect buyer with minimal stress.”

The report does not comment on whether estate agents and sellers are setting realistic or achievable asking prices at the start of the process.

For more details visit getagent.co.uk/blog/property-news/the-getagent-sellers-report-2023.