Nationwide report Rural rules the roost

Rural rules the roost as countryside homes plough ahead of urban properties for house price growth

  • House prices in predominantly rural areas have risen by 23% over the last five years, compared to 18% in predominantly urban areas
  • Rural terraced properties have seen the strongest rate of price growth, urban flats the weakest

Commenting on the figures, Andrew Harvey, Nationwide’s Senior Economist, said:

“Average house price growth in predominantly rural local authorities has continued to outpace that in predominantly urban areas. Between December 2019 and December 2024, house prices in predominantly rural areas increased by 23%, compared with 18% in predominantly urban areas. Local authorities classified as ‘urban with significant rural’ saw price growth of 22% over the same period.

“We used the ONS’ broad rural urban classification, which identifies the proportion of the population living in different area types:

Type ONS definition Examples of authorities
predominantly rural  More than half of population live in rural settlements or market towns Cotswold

North Norfolk

Rutland

Shropshire

Urban with significant rural 26% to 49% of population live in either rural villages or market towns Ashford

Bedford

Boston

Stroud

Predominantly urban 75%+ of population are either in towns or cities Derby

Exeter

Norwich

“The pandemic had a significant impact on housing demand during 2021 and 2022, with our research at the time pointing to a shift in preferences towards more rural areas, particularly amongst older age groups. Whilst these effects have now faded, less urban areas have continued to hold the edge in terms of house price growth.

“In our latest housing market survey1, we focused on homeowners who have moved in the last five years. Our findings indicate that the majority (63%) of house moves were within the same type of area, with the biggest flow being within large towns or cities. Around 9% of moves were from towns / cities to rural areas (villages or hamlets)2, although this was partially offset by 7% who moved from rural to more urban areas.

“However, amongst those who moved to a different type of area, there was a significant difference by age group, with younger people (those aged 25-34) tending to move to more urban areas, whilst older age groups, particularly 55+, favouring more rural areas.

Rural semi-detached properties have seen strongest price growth over last five years

“Our survey data shows that a bigger property or garden was the top reason cited by those moving in the last five years, which may in part reflect the ‘race for space’ seen during the pandemic.

“Indeed, a third of survey respondents (33%) purchased a detached property, with just 15% buying a flat. Looking at the flows between property types, it appears the majority of home movers ‘traded up’.

“Amongst those buying in rural locations, 41% of those surveyed bought a detached house, with a further 29% buying a semi-detached. But it is actually rural terraced properties that have seen the strongest price growth between December 2019 and December 2024, with average prices increasing by 25%. (Note that due to data availability, these figures exclude Scottish local authorities).

“Rural semi-detached also increased by 25% over the same period, with urban semis seeing a 24% rise. Meanwhile, rural detached properties increased by 21%. Flats saw considerably weaker price growth, particularly those in predominantly urban areas, which increased by just 6% over the last five years.

Local authority house price performance

“Despite rural areas performing better overall, only four out of the 20 top performing local authorities in 2024 were classed as predominantly rural. Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, which is just north of the Cotswolds, was the top performing rural authority in 2024, with average prices rising by 11%.

Top performing local authorities (2024)

Local Authority GOR Type Average price % chg
Blackburn with Darwen N West Urban 158,790 13%
Inverclyde Scotland Urban 112,517 11%
Tewkesbury S West Rural 334,361 11%
Harborough E Mids Rural 356,463 11%
Stirling Scotland Urban 237,088 10%
Bassetlaw E Mids Rural 211,266 10%
Lichfield W Mids Urban sig. rural 333,858 10%
Sefton N West Urban 220,341 10%
North East Derbyshire E Mids Urban 250,644 10%
Liverpool N West Urban 176,211 10%
Renfrewshire Scotland Urban 156,452 10%
South Staffordshire W Mids Urban sig. rural 306,405 10%
South Oxfordshire S East Rural 484,364 9%
Blaenau Gwent Wales Urban 140,057 9%
North Lanarkshire Scotland Urban 149,170 9%
Cherwell S East Urban sig. rural 362,035 9%
East Ayrshire Scotland Urban 129,763 9%
Rhondda Cynon Taf Wales Urban 157,903 9%
Greenwich London Urban 485,772 9%
Norh East Lincolnshire Yorks Urban 152,249 9%

“Of the 349 local authorities in Great Britain, 212 (61%) are classified as predominantly urban, 89 (26%) as predominantly rural, while the remaining 48 (14%) are classed as urban with significant rural. The South West has the highest proportion of rural local authorities, with over 50% being predominantly rural (14 out of 26), while London unsurprisingly has none.

“The tables on the following page show the top performing local authorities in each region in terms of annual house price growth in 2024 split by rural and urban.”

Top performing rural local authorities (2024)

GOR Local authority Average price % chg
S West Tewkesbury 334,361 11%
East Mids Harborough 356,463 11%
S East South Oxfordshire 484,364 9%
Scotland Shetland Islands 191,083 8%
East East Cambridgeshire 345,041 8%
N East County Durham 135,405 8%
W Mids Stratford-on-Avon 387,411 7%
Wales Carmarthenshire 197,925 6%
N West Westmorland & Furness 236,511 6%
Yorks North Yorkshire 276,027 5%

Note: No rural local authorities in London

Top performing urban local authorities (2024)

GOR Local authority Average price % chg
N West Blackburn with Darwen 158,790 13%
Scotland Inverclyde 112,517 11%
E Mids North East Derbyshire 250,644 10%
Wales Blaenau Gwent 140,057 9%
London Greenwich 485,772 9%
Yorks North East Lincolnshire 152,249 9%
East St Albans 651,451 8%
N East North Tyneside 198,764 8%
W Mids Coventry 227,509 7%
S East Southampton 244,863 7%
S West South Gloucestershire 339,008 5%

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