Large homes in Home Counties (Commuter area)

[Fretfulmum]

We are looking to put up for sale, DHs parents home which is a large detached type in a popular and very expensive Home Counties town. Commutable very quickly to London and usually large homes sell very quickly here. Absolutely nothing is selling that’s similar on the market right now and I really do get it. Cost of living and large homes with stamp duty £100k+, maintenance and bills etc. I’m beginning to think, who exactly is the target buyer of these homes- it can’t all just be people in their 40s with slightly older children who bought 10 years ago and now want to upsize with huge amounts of equity? Who is going to buy all these homes or am I being naive that there really are that many wealthy people who want to live in these kinds of towns and can afford it?
wondering whether to tell DHs parents to stay put for a few more years or better to get it on the market now. No real need for selling other than the house is expensive to maintain and far too big for them.

That's not what's happening where I am- same location? Houses are selling in a week. But you won't get a large house for £700K in my village- more like a 3-bed linked detached or a semi at the most.

Most commuter towns haven't been doing well since late 2022. Ditto most parts of London, although some part of East/SE London are apparently flying in some places. Perhaps your town is one of those more unusual areas which is selling well still.

That's not the case in mine which is a 30 min train journey.
Houses are being sold within a week or two- average price near the station anything from £600K- £1.2M.

Usually bought by Londoners moving out for green space and good state schools.

Same here.

Home counties, nice village. There are three 4 bed 1950s detached houses with large rooms, plenty of parking and gardens, all in the £900k range. Been on the market 5 months, no sales.

Stamp duty is so high, it makes more sense to convert lofts, add extensions etc to smaller houses. Maybe when interest rates fall further, there will be more interest.

Yes there are lots of super high earners in London so I guess there is a big target market in the commuter belt. In laws are calling EAs on Monday to start the process of getting their house on the market. Hardly anything is shifting here so they are going to have to be realistic with price.
In reply to a PP, it’s the school fees plus the mortgage on a house like this, which is the killer. We have a smaller house than in laws but we pay 2 school fees and couldn’t do both. Also at some point I want to slow down with work and not continue to work at a senior level so a huge mortgage would be a risk to take on if I cut my hours back.

I'm sure it makes a huge difference if you have an excellent state school where you are. I think that this trend for Londoners to move out for better prices and lifestyle has turned in general as prices have gone up too much to make it a cost saving exercise. Even traditionally incredibly popular places like St Albans has falling prices now.

I am moving so wont directly impact me but they have released the local plan for the next few years where the government has deemed a further 150 homes need to be built. The only land available to build is agricultural land. Dr's surgery and schools can't deal with it as already over saturated. We have already had a couple of hundred homes built in the last ten years. All executive style homes - attracted mainly London money. When the new ones get built they will no doubt be in the 800K-1M territory - as that it what they build. The madness continues...

I think it would depend on the time of a reliable door to door commute (January - March), season ticket & parking costs, availability of popular, high-performing state schools, number of new build developments in the area and if infrastructure, e.g. medical care, has kept pace.

Could they afford to stay put and properly maintain / future proof the house (step free access shower with seat), doors wide enough for wheelchair, room for a carer? Remember if the free up equity and they need care it could easily cost their estate 6 K plus per month in a home or over £30 ph at home.

@LadyLapsang yes they could stay put. They don’t really need the equity in the house. But equally it’s a 3700sq ft home with a huge garden. There are great state schools here too, but people who live on these types of roads usually use private schooling.

Farmers could be forced to sell land at lower value under new Labour plans | The Independent

So apparently, Labour thinks the answer to the housing crisis is to let councils compulsorily purchase farmland at below market value. Yes. Below market value. Not fair compensation — just “we’ve decided your land is worth this, cheers.”
Am I missing something, or is this not just a state-sanctioned land grab dressed up as housing policy?
The idea that councils should be able to swoop in and force farmers to sell at rock-bottom agricultural rates — rather than open-market value — isn’t just short-sighted. It’s a slap in the face to every farming family who’s spent decades, even centuries, working that land, feeding the nation, battling red tape, and actually paying their taxes.
Let’s be clear: This isn’t about helping first-time buyers. It’s not about fixing housing supply. It’s about taking land from the one group that still actually uses it for something useful — growing food — and handing it to developers to slap up houses people can't afford.
Don’t pretend this is about affordability. Because once that farmland’s gone, it’ll go to the big developers churning out “executive homes” that cost half a million or more.
This policy isn’t progressive. It’s lazy, it’s disingenuous, and it’s an insult to the people whose job is — quite literally — keeping the shelves stocked and the country fed. Food security? Oh, don’t worry, we’ll just import everything.

@ThisTicklishFatball I think you might be a bit confused. Once land is in a development plan, its value isn’t agricultural. It’s multiples of that! I don’t think labour want it below agricultural values, just not the £millions some lend has sold for commercially. Yes it’s not fair but who says life is fair? The reason we don’t have social housing is because of land values. Developers have to make money and do it by building executive homes. Local people seem to like them too. However near me the larger developments must have social housing in the mix. And they do. Labour wants social housing but isn’t going to pay top $ as housing developers do.

We also have new schools, other schools enlarged and expanded dr surgeries. The LA plans schools and we have ones that build up in numbers as houses are competed.

I’m not confused, thank you — just not buying the spin.
Yes, land values rise when included in a development plan. That’s kind of the point: the government now wants to compulsorily acquire farmland before that uplift — keeping it locked at agricultural use value, or slightly above, to stop landowners “profiting.” So let’s be honest: it’s about getting land on the cheap while calling it “progressive.”
And no, I’m not arguing that land should sell for £4 million an acre. But there’s a vast difference between limiting speculative greed and undervaluing land so councils and developers can make the gains instead. That’s not about fairness — it’s about power.
Also: just because executive homes “sell well” doesn’t mean they’re good planning. They’re often the only things built because developers say “social housing isn’t viable” after getting planning approved — and somehow councils accept that. Funny, that.
As for schools and surgeries — brilliant when they happen. But in far too many cases, infrastructure lags years behind the houses, and the “promises” evaporate once the development is signed off. It's nice if your area is the exception, but plenty of rural and semi-rural areas are being dumped with housing and none of the wraparound services.
I want housing. I want affordability. I just don’t believe the solution is taking land from food producers for bottom dollar and letting volume housebuilders dominate yet again — with a few token social homes tacked on.
This isn’t about NIMBYism. It’s about long-term food security, rural sustainability, and not repeating the same broken cycle with shinier branding.

People from Hong Kong are buying the properties near me (outer London, leafy borough). Or people moving from inner London for the schools.

Another thing they could consider is whether plans could be drawn up to divide the house into two dwellings or build another home on the land. They don’t have to do the work themselves but they could possibly get planning consent and then sell the property to maximise the return.

Anecdotally. A friend and her brother inherited their parents house 2 years ago. Large dated bungalow in an average town. The brother went on Rightmove and decided the house was worth 700k. Because a similar house sold for that in 2022.
He got estimates of 575-625. Insisted it was put on the market at offers over 650. He has made elaborate financial plans based on getting 650. Two years later it’s now on at offers over 625. They’ve had one offer of 595. In two years!
Friend is now having to pay council tax and gardening costs for the house and can’t persuade the brother to reduce.
I am old and have known people who chased the market down back in the 80s. I know the country is very different now but the principle still stands that the best offer you get is what the house is worth.
OP’s parents need to be a bit more canny if they really want to move.
I bought in peak 2022 and accept that even though I’ve spent £20k on the house I’d be lucky to get back what I paid for it.
As a parent of three young adults I welcome this slow deflation of property prices.

@Fretfulmum Are you willing to be more specific about location?
I'm in the Northern Home Counties, in a very popular market town.

House prices have gone through the roof in the last 3 years as more people can WFH and only commute a couple of days a week. Londoners are moving out in their droves and, having made a killing on their own houses, can afford £1M+ in their 30s if they are each earning £100K salary.

There is a massive housing shortage of family homes near the station - that's what makes the difference. Edwardian semis that are 10 mins walk from the station are well over £1M. 3-bed terraced cottages in the same location are at least £600K+.

St Albans prices are still fairly hefty! If people market their house at a sensible price they sell in a fortnight with multiple offers. If you chase a high price they sit around for months. Far better to price lower and get enthusiasm and offers early. People know what they can get for their budget

Plenty of houses in my village £1.5-2m sell easily. Above £2m struggle to sell. What kind of price are you talking, OP?

150? Our local plan has 30,000.

@Stolenyouth I agree with all your points, especially the last sentence about wanting my children to be able to afford a home.
Can your friend not refuse to pay the ongoing costs and insist that her brother takes them on himself? It's him that has refused to lower the asking price for 2 years and it is his poor decision making that has meant that the house still hasn't sold. I don't see why she should suffer because of his stubbornness.

@Newgirls of course prices in St A are still 'hefty'. I agree with your sales technique. Having said that, in the rising market of 2020-22, nearly everything, however hefty the price tag sold in a week, often before it got to RM! It's clearly a very different market now and since the end of '22 and prices have come down from the peak.

But prices are still rising where I am.
Not a million miles from St As.
IMO it's proximity to the station that counts. There can be £200K+ difference across the town depending on location - near the top state schools and near the station.

But prices are still rising where I am.

Looking at market reports that's unusual at the moment though.

Well, I hope that's right as I've family looking to buy in the commuter belt and maybe St Albans.

I'm sure you are right that a station and excellent state schools make a big difference. That makes total sense.
I do agree with @pumicepumy that prices are have been falling in general, and more so in the last 3 months or so. I wouldn't rush to buy if I were your relatives, assuming they are looking for a large, family home.