The Telegraph newspaper has revealed the first Rich Towns List creating a league table which charts the flow of property wealth through the country, and assesses the popularity of the towns. Two of the top three, Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross are where we have offices!
Here is what was reported about Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross:
1. BEACONSFIELD, Buckinghamshire
Average price: £684,474 Outperforms surrounding area by: 163% Sales over £500,000: 54%
Five-year price increase: 60%
It weighs in at the top of the table as prime commuter territory, nestling in the Chilterns like an expensive jewel, hanging on the hard shoulder of the M40 and half an hour by train from Marylebone. It attracts high flyers – city strivers who commute, and creatives who come to the National Film and Television School. Mouseprice.com reports that 38% of the population hold university degrees. High performing Bucks grammar schools produce results. Houses in top addresses Westfield Road and Cambridge Road routinely sell at over £2m. At the end of last year the average house price was calculated to be 14 times the average income.
2. GERRARDS CROSS/CHALFONT ST PETER, Buckinghamshire
Average price: £663,959 Outperforms surrounding area by: 155% Sales over £500,000: 55%
Five-year price increase: 50%
Another pearl in Green Belt land, given extra sheen by being so close to the M25 and the M40, less than two miles from Beaconsfield but three train-stops closer to Marylebone. It is the sense of countryside so close to the roar of the capital that does it, with the old fashioned Common at the heart providing 32 acres of woodland, ponds and grassy knolls for children to play on. Around it are chocolate box cottages and elegant town houses. The choice of schools ranges from Eton in the private sector to the brilliant Bucks grammars. Golf and tennis are socially important, and faces you might know include Fern Britton, Paul Daniels and Cilla Black. Houses in Camp Road, Stoneyfield and Top Park sell at over £1.5m.
