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More rural affordable homes needed

Rural homes are 20 per cent more expensive than homes in urban areas according to the latest annual Halifax Rural Housing Review.

And one of the greatest differences is in the East Midlands where the average house price in rural areas is 30 per cent higher than in the region’s urban areas.

The review uses Halifax house price data to look at the movements in rural house prices each year.  It reveals that first-time buyers account for just 41 per cent of all mortgage financed purchases in rural areas, compared to 53 per cent in urban areas, with affordability cited as the main reason. In the South Northamptonshire Local Authority District this drops to 30 per cent.

“The 2017 Review underlines the very real need for more affordable rural housing,” said Craig Felts, Company Secretary of Northamptonshire Rural Housing Association.  “We currently have plans underway to develop affordable homes in several Northamptonshire villages for the first time.  Our aim is to stop local people being forced to move away, while helping to build sustainable rural communities.”