It's official: Aldenham is the most expensive Hertfordshire village in which to own a home.
The average price of property in this Herts hotspot was an enormous £1,319,622 in the year to May 2021, according to Savills research.
The home of upmarket Aldenham School (with its boarders' fees of £35,000 per year) is ideally placed for the M1, between Watford and Radlett.
Savills used Land Registry data to assess villages/parishes in Hertfordshire with 20 or more sales.
Aldenham was followed by Tewin, Sarratt and Chorleywood on the countdown, with all four places having average sale prices in excess of a million pounds.
The most expensive village over the last five years was a little closer to home, however: the parish of Harpenden Rural, which covers Kinsbourne Green Common and parts of the Rothamsted Estate came top, with an average price of £1,399,272.
Nick Ingle, head of residential sales at Savills in Harpenden, said: “Obviously these figures are averages and they should be read with that in mind – one or two large sales can distort the numbers.
"However, that said, if you look at the prices for this year it’s possibly not too much of a surprise. The strength of the market is phenomenal and properties in this part of the world have been in high demand and short supply."
He added: "Behavioural and lifestyle changes continue to shape the market and there remains a significant number of buyers still looking for larger, family homes with more space, bigger gardens and extra room to work from home.
"Those villages seen as ‘best in class’ – with a pub, a local shop and a good sense of community alongside quality housing stock, access to schools and a decent broadband connection – will always be highly sought after.”
Nick said the five year averages demonstrated Hertfordshire’s long term appeal – particularly among those moving from London.
“Excellent transport links, superb schools and relative affordability mean the county has always been popular among those moving from the capital – and if anything that has only increased over the last 18 months,” he said.
“The number of buyers registering with our Harpenden office is up 27 per cent year-on-year, sales agreed have increased by 45 per cent and 44 per cent of properties have received multiple offers – with a 24 per cent increase in those with a London postcode. There remains significant momentum in the market and we expect the level of interest to continue for the rest of this year and into 2022.”
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