A senior minister's proposal to build tens of thousands of homes in wealthy rural areas will affect the value of your home – but perhaps not in the way you might expect, according to experts.
Sajid Javid, the Communities Secretary, caused alarm among some householders this week when he announced that rural areas might have to bear the brunt of yet more house building.
The country is in the grip of a housing crisis, as a lack of homes in areas of high demand has pushed prices to sky-high levels.
Rural areas in the South East have already been forced to commit to building tens of thousands of homes in the next 15 years and Mr Javid’s announcement has prompted fears that yet more large new developments could hit house prices.
But property experts have said these fears could be unfounded, with some saying newbuilds could even increase the value of existing homes.
'New houses could even make villages more desirable'
Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, said: “It’s impossible to answer the question [about the effect on house prices] definitively at this point. If you look at government policy, it is putting more pressure on local authorities but I don’t think it is trying to destroy the value of people’s homes.
“Infrastructure is critical and if you look at a lot of small villages, there are a lot of issues with those. They might not have a shop any more or good transport links.
“At one level that’s good but it doesn’t work for everybody. If you are a young person living there maybe it doesn’t work for you. If the development of a village is done in a sympathetic way, it’s certainly conceivable that values in relative terms will hold their own and the area may even become more desirable.”
'The Nimby response is emotional – the wider community will benefit'
James Ginley, a director at Legal & General’s Surveying Services, agreed. He said the way developers approached building was all-important.
“It’s an emotional response. As a homeowner, if a large development is happening opposite your house you will worry,” he said.
“Planners are setting out to mitigate the impact. For an individual homeowner, there may a negative impact in terms of your view, but the wider area and community will benefit.”
He said "Section 106", a part of the planning process that requires developers to make a one-off payment to local authorities to pay for community improvements, was vital to this.