Shropshire Many house-hunters are being seduced by the Shropshire Hills and the exquisite timbered and Georgian houses in Ludlow and Shrewsbury. In the past year he reckons prices have gone up by 20 to 25 per cent. He is selling a smart cottage with two acres, a stream, paddock and stables converted to an office for 325,000. In Shropshire you can also still find picturesque ruins to restore. Nock Deighton is selling at auction a small groom's cottage with barns and stables whose guide price is 120,000.
People come here to work from home.
Hereford and Worcester Tim Gaston of Humberts in Worcester reports that about 60 per cent of country house sales from his office have gone to outsiders relocating to the area in pursuit of jobs. They are mostly professionals, lawyers and accountants, who are moving into Birmingham firms. Country house prices have risen by at least 20 per cent. A Victorian Grade II building called the Victoria Institute in the city centre is being converted by Wimpey into 28 lofts, selling for 80,000 to 250,000 each. You have to escape the girdle of the M5, convenient though it is, to find rural bliss.