You pay a £36,116 premium to live in market towns during lockdown, up 8.4% for the year as people look to improve their lifestyle.

During lockdown home movers looking for a better quality of life in market towns paid a 13% premium or £36,116 over county averages increasing 8.4% or £2,812 for the year ending 2020, according to the Halifax.

The average house price in market towns is £321,780 and the most expensive is Beaconsfield where property values are £1,134,293 with a premium to the county average of £155% or £689,024.

Over the last ten years, the market town with the largest change in house prices was Alresford in Hampshire rising 84% from £381,849 in 2010 to £703,371 by the end of 2020.

If you are retired, equity release can be used if you are relocating and buying a new property in a market town as the mortgage does not need evidence of earnings and there are no repayments.

Large premiums in most popular towns

All of the top ten most expensive market towns are located in the South East or South West England and have average house prices of £500,000 and higher.

Beaconsfield is leading with average property values of £1,134,293 followed by Henley on Thames on £858,772 and Alresford costing £703,371.

In contrast seven of the most popular market towns attracting the largest percentage premium over the county average are located in the Midlands and three in the Southern England.

This table from Halifax shows the average house prices and premium paid above the county average to live in a market town at the end of 2020.

Region	House prices	Premium
Beaconsfield	£1,134,293	155%
Wetherby	£395,315	98%
Alresford	£703,371	97%
Keswick	£385,071	95%
Bakewell	£424,491	94%
Henley on Thames	£858,772	92%
Southwell	£374,281	79%
Altrincham	£499,792	79%
Stamford	£371,608	71%
Marlborough	£514,491	70%

Beaconsfield has the highest premium paid over county average of 155% or £689,024 with second place Wetherby in West Yorkshire requiring a premium of 98% or £195,705.

Alresford in Hampshire is third with a premium of 97% or £345,522 and over the last ten years is also the market town with the largest percentage rise in average property values of 84% or £321,522.

Next is Keswick in Cumbria where you would pay a premium of 95% or £187,582 over the county average and Bakewell in Derbyshire higher by 94% or £205,785.

If you already own a property in a market town, as a remortgage buyer you could raise capital for a loft conversion or extension to create more space to work from home.

Some market towns have lower prices with Ferryhill in Durham the most affordable costing £86,351, Immingham in Lincolnshire costing £143,336 and Tickhill in Derbyshire at £177,877.

Buying in a market town when retired

If you are reliant on your pension income and savings, it is possible to use equity release for buying a dream home in retirement and allow interest to roll-up over time.

For example, if your property is valued at £400,000 with no mortgage you could consider buying a £540,000 home in a market town using a lifetime mortgage of £140,000 which is 26% provider loan to value.

Lifetime mortgages have no requirement to test affordability or to make repayments and for loans with small loan to values the provider fixed interest rate would be under 3% per year.

See what value of property in a market town you could buy if you use a lifetime mortgage at this link:
Equity release calculator with instant results and figures for your home.

England’s market towns are historic, beautiful and popular and likely to attract buyers in the future so owning a home here could benefit from rising house prices which can off-set interest on the mortgage.

What are your next steps?

Talk to our London City Mortgage advisers if you are releasing equity to buy a more expensive property, we can recommend the product and manage the process through provider valuation and offer.

Find out more about the best mortgages and most competitive interest rates to buy a new property with this link:
Free equity release quote with interest rates to buy a new property.

Our expert advisers can select the product to help you move to a market town. Learn more by using the equity release calculator, property value tracker chart and mortgage costs calculator.