Buyers looking for affordability in East Anglia were until recently able to hop over the Essex / Suffolk border and find relatively good value in the South of Suffolk particularly in the Stour Valley/Dedham Vale around the Wool Towns of Hadleigh, Lavenham, Long Melford, Sudbury, Cavendish and Clare.
Gillie Pearce of Stacks Property Search says, “Like many coastal areas of the UK, prices rocketed during the pandemic. The market for properties on the Suffolk coast around Aldeburgh, Southwold and Walberswick is robust, supply is short and competition is high. The best coastal properties are 20%-30% higher than they were pre-pandemic, and there’s no glut of second homes coming back onto the market.
“Further inland, in the villages around Eye, Halesworth, Framlingham and Saxmundham, the market isn’t quite so competitive, but buyers expect better value than is on offer and homeowners who bought during the pandemic are hanging onto their properties. The mid-Suffolk secret is well and truly out.
“But head up the A140 further north to Diss, and into the Waveney Valley that runs along the border between Norfolk and Suffolk, and prices are significantly lower. Mainline trains from Diss take 90mins into Liverpool Street, an acceptable commute for the new world of two or three days working from home.
“The Waveney Valley is known for its outstanding natural beauty, charming rural villages and historic market towns such as Beccles and Bungay. It’s home to the River Waveney with wonderful walking, cycling, canoeing and kayaking, and is within easy reach of both Norfolk and Suffolk coasts.
“Traditionally, buyers in this part of the world wanted to stay within a one hour commute of London, but now that the commuting radius is expanding, this more rural, less well-known area of East Anglia is becoming popular as prices are around 20% cheaper than for similar properties 50 miles further south.
“A good four bedroom edge-of-village detached property within a short drive of Diss can be found for around £500,000, or a large family home on a substantial plot with a couple of acres for well under £1m.”
Grade II Listed, six bedroom house in Hoxne with over 2.5 acres:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/125105786#/?channel=RES_BUY
Gillie Pearce says, “Many buyers coming from London and other cities and large towns are wanting a rural property, close to a village or market town, with their own land, and they’re looking to take some equity out of their sale. A move slightly further north than they might have been anticipating ticks all the boxes.”
Stacks Property Search, 01594 842880 / www.stacks.co.uk
