Phil Spencer: how to steal a bargain in a Cotswolds chocolate box village
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Years ago, I had the delightful opportunity to show Kylie Minogue around the Cotswolds. She was looking for a property outside London and we thought the area would be a good fit.
It is close enough to the capital, but not too close, offers stunning countryside and beautiful villages full of traditional limestone architecture.
She was also attracted to the privacy the Cotswolds offered. With lots of other famous faces living locally, she had a better chance of blending in.
In the end, she didn’t buy anywhere – but the area isn’t just for celebrities. While it is famed for its picturesque villages, there is still a variety of properties and price points to suit a range of styles and budgets. If you are looking for better value, it will be out there.
While I am familiar with the Cotswolds, I haven’t worked there for a few years, so I spoke to Samantha Scott-White, director of Cotswold Buying Agent, to get her take on the market at the moment.
The hotspots, she said, are in between Daylesford and the pocket of villages surrounding Stow-on-the-Wold. Being to the east, this part of the district is closer to London and so comes with some of the highest house prices; the average cost of a property in Stow-on-the-Wold is ￡591,600, according to Rightmove.
The appeal of this area is obvious – if you only have to be in London a couple of days a week for work, that can bring the Cotswolds in to play for someone or a family looking to move out of the city and find some green space.
It is certainly one of the areas that benefited from Covid in this respect. From 2020 to 2023, there was a real rush out of London, although Samantha says the trend has now calmed down.
There is also the argument that you get what you pay for. In a highly desirable area like this, with lovely greenery and good schools, you are always going to have to pay more.
But, if you can afford it – particularly if you have owned property in London previously – I would say it is still a good use of your money. A house is a home first and an investment second, so if it’s right for you then it may be worth paying a bit more.
For families, the Cotswolds benefits from a good grammar school system, plus plenty of other state and private options too. With the school system in the headlines and likely to come under pressure in the next few years, it could be a shrewd move to get in the area now.
The further west you go, the longer it takes to get to London – and that is reflected in the price. In Bream, across the river Severn, the average house price is ￡301,250.
Similarly, there are more affordable house prices in and around Gloucester, where the average house price in the city is ￡269,857. While it may not have the small village charm enjoyed by residents in other parts of the Cotswolds, it’s still all right on your doorstep, and the city itself has plenty of charm.
However, there are of course outliers from this “west is cheaper” rule. Chipping Campden, well-known as being popular with wealthy homeowners leaving the capital, is further west but has an average house price of ￡831,02.
If you were to look further north, areas on the outskirts of Oxford have the same appeal as western options – offering cheaper prices than Chipping Norton but with access to the best parts of living in the Cotswolds. The area could also soon benefit from the “Soho Farmhouse effect”.
Samantha told me that house prices saw a lift from the opening of the private club as members want to be in close proximity to make the most of what’s on offer. The same could happen in the villages north of Oxford, where Estelle Manor (a new members-only hotel that opened last year) just outside Witney could trigger a similar effect.
The impact of these types of openings is very real. My wife and I often joke that we would love a Soho House in our village for exactly this reason – it is seen as a real marker of the attractiveness of an area. We live in hope.
But I don’t think you only need to look at cheaper areas if you’re trying to get more for your money in the Cotswolds. Within a village, even the most desirable ones, there are a variety of properties.
For example, while there could be a manor house, there are also likely to be some workers’ cottages, converted stables or outhouses – and perhaps even some more recently built properties. Homes built in the 1970s can be found dotted around among older properties and are usually cheaper, and a good investment after some sprucing up.
The Cotswolds offers an aspirational lifestyle, with everything you need while being free from the hustle and bustle of big cities.
Of course, this comes with a price tag. However, it is worth taking the time to dig around and see what is on offer, as there will still be affordable houses in chocolate box villages. You could be pleasantly surprised.
