With the news of prospective buyer interest declining for cottage-style properties over the past three years, Nick Maud, lead analyst at Connells Group, believes it could be partly down to increased stamp duty surcharge and council tax premium for second homes.
He said: “Part of the story is the unwinding of extraordinary gains made in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic.
“Demand and prices in picturesque, rural locations surged during the widely publicised ‘race for space’.
“With memories of the pandemic lockdowns still fresh, buyers paid record prices for what they perceived as a better quality of life with greater access to nature and private outdoor space.
“However, inflationary pressures and a looser labour market have created a sense of growing precarity.
“Meanwhile specific policies, such as the increased stamp duty surcharge and council tax premium for second homes, have also reduced the appeal of country boltholes for a certain kind of buyer.
“This means that many would-be sellers that bought in the last few years are finding out their home is no longer worth what they paid for it.”
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