Alison Kent, Branch Manager/Valuer in our Yorkshire team takes a look at the market town of Bedale in North Yorkshire and how its popularity has increased during the pandemic.
Over the course of the last six months, property owners and purchasers have often asked why Bedale has risen in such magnitude of popularity. For those of us who live locally, we all know how special the town is, but it recently seems to have been on the radar of buyers who are looking for a significant change in lifestyle.
For those who have a desire to leave cities for a quieter more rural pace of life, Bedale and the surrounding villages have become a popular choice. Lockdown has inevitably made us all reassess how we spend our free time and being outdoors and the enjoyment of countryside activities has improved our mental health and encouraged appreciation of the simpler things in life.
With the stunning countryside literally on the doorstep, Bedale town has so much to offer to a prospective purchaser, a perfect lemon drizzle cake from the Institute Café, fresh produce every Tuesday from our local Farmers Market and the amazing lamb shanks from Cockburn’s the Butchers. Primary and Secondary schooling is catered for within the town, as well as local sporting facilities, a golf course, together with the position of the town is perfectly located for those who still have a requirement to travel to work, the proximity of the A/M1 and the link road provides fast and easy access to the larger more populated towns and cities such as Darlington, Leeds, and Northallerton.
Despite the stamp duty window due to close at the end of March, there has been a huge demand to move to this area of Yorkshire. There continues to be a lack of stock available in the market, which is why, when new properties are launched to the market, they are selling quickly and are comfortably achieving guide prices or within 2% less of the headline figure. Due to Covid restrictions and the government’s current advice, George F. White is working within lockdown regulations and is only allowing people to move if they have a genuine need to do so which in effect is allowing us to introduce ready willing, and proceedable buyers to our clients. With this approach we have been able to introduce buyers who have a clear and genuine intention to purchase their new home, resulting in the majority of new instructions having sales agreed within the first two weeks of marketing.
It truly is an excellent time to sell and despite the current challenges, we would be happy to provide advice regarding selling or renting your home in today’s market.
If you would like to speak to Alison about selling or letting your property please call 0333 920 2220.