Every week brings a new headline for the housing market. A week or two ago, one group of experts was confidently predicting a 10% fall in house prices this year; yet in the last few days a different statistical survey suggested the opposite, and claimed in fact that asking prices are already 1.9% higher than they were before March and denying any signs of a price dip.
Whenever such predictions are so wildly at odds with each other, the inference is simple: nobody has a clue. If studying medieval history for four years taught me anything, it's that the true impact of things is never understood while they're still going on, and often not for many years afterwards.
But of all the best-guess predictions we've seen so far in 2020, the one which most rings true is that house buyers will increasingly look to swap city for countryside. The increasing urbanisation of the population witnessed over the last two centuries can't continue (it'd mean a Blade Runner-style future if it did) indefinitely; the virus feels like the tipping point to being reversing that process.
And so it is that one of the more unusual pieces of research we've seen this year will be of huge interest to many buyers: a look at places which offer super-fast broadband for easy working from home, while also offering plenty of beautiful places nearby.
The question is, how do you put these together? The Highlands ticks the boxes for natural beauty, but fails at broadband speed. Remote coastal cottages in Devon or Cornwall fall into the same category. So rather than pick obvious-but-remote beauty spots, a new study commissioned by mojomortgages.com decided to look at places with decent broadband and a good number of National Trust properties to visit nearby.
Of course, it's hardly a flawless system, but it's not a bad idea at all, and it threw up some interesting results — and some places which many might not have thought of. Here's the top 10, with a few examples of places you could buy in the environs:
Falkirk
Average internet speed in Mbps: 80.5; National Trust properties nearby: 22
What you could buy: An eight-bedroom detached house at £730,000 via Rettie
Llanelli
Average internet speed in Mbps: 37.8; National Trust properties nearby: 11
Darlington
Average internet speed in Mbps: 83.8; National Trust properties nearby: 8
Stirling
Average internet speed in Mbps: 35.4; National Trust properties nearby: 26
What you could buy: This four-bedroom villa at £370,000 via Aberdein Considine
Scunthorpe
Average internet speed in Mbps: 79.3; National Trust properties nearby: 7
Halesowen
Average internet speed in Mbps: 76.1; National Trust properties nearby: 28
What you could buy: This four-bedroom house with beautiful garden at £795,000 via Lex Allan Grove
Dumfries
Average internet speed in Mbps: 34.3; National Trust properties nearby: 41
Dunfermline
Average internet speed in Mbps: 51.2; National Trust properties nearby: 60
Huddersfield
Average internet speed in Mbps: 79; National Trust properties nearby: 40
What you could buy: This huge country pile via Simon Blyth is up for sale at £1.25 million
Inverness
Average internet speed in Mbps: 35.7; National Trust properties nearby: 42
50 best places to live near London
The indispensable guide for getting into the country without ending up out of touch with the town.
-
Helicopters, fridges and Gianni Agnelli: How the humble Fiat Panda became a desirable design classicGianni Agnelli's Fiat Panda 4x4 Trekking is currently for sale with RM Sotheby's.
-
What's a 'wellness village' and will it tempt you back into the office?The team behind London's first mixed-use ‘wellness village’ says it has the magic formula for tempting workers back into offices.
-
What's a 'wellness village' and will it tempt you back into the office?
The team behind London's first mixed-use ‘wellness village’ says it has the magic formula for tempting workers back into offices.
-
A mini estate in Kent that's so lovely it once featured in Simon Schama's 'History of Britain'The Paper Mill estate is a picture-postcard in the Garden of England.
-
Hidden excellence in a £7.5 million north London homeBehind the traditional façades of Provost Road, you will find something very special.
-
Sip tea and laugh at your neighbours in this seaside Norfolk home with a watchtowerOn Cliff Hill in Gorleston, one home is taller than all the others. It could be yours.
-
A Grecian masterpiece that might be one of the nation's finest homes comes up for sale in KentGrade I-listed Holwood House sits in 40 acres of private parkland just 15 miles from central London. It is spectacular.
-
Some of the finest landscapes in the North of England with a 12-bedroom home attachedUpper House in Derbyshire shows why the Kinder landscape was worth fighting for.
-
Could Gruber's Antiques from Paddington 2 be your new Notting Hill home?It was the home of Mr Gruber and his antiques in the film, but in the real world, Alice's Antiques could be yours.
-
What should 1.5 million new homes look like?The King's recent visit to Nansledan with the Prime Minister gives us a clue as to Labour's plans, but what are the benefits of traditional architecture? And can they solve a housing crisis?
