Knutsford has become one of eight locations to be named one of the top places to live in the North West of England. With approximately 23,500 people living in the area the overall population has increased by 4.8% in the past 10 years.
The Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide update is a yearly event with Knutsford quoted as a 'posh Cheshire with a sense of fun and a love of the countryside'. They also highlighted the 'quirkiness' and great architecture of buildings in the area described by Richard Harding Watt and walks in Tatton Park, Toft Wood, or around Knutsford Moor.
The guide is available online and gives a breakdown of overall winning regions along with the best places to live by region and by lifestyle.
Within the Northwest, there is certainly something for everyone from excellent city living in Manchester and Liverpool to the suburbia of Altrincham and the stunning scenery around Kirby Londsdale, Arnside, and Bollington.
Annual property price growth has strengthened to 10.2% in the year to March 2021 which is the strong rate of annual price growth since August 2007. Month on month average prices increased across all regions of the UK. An average sale price of a property in the Knutsford area is now average £418,863, with rental per month start from £1,000.
Within the area of Knutsford, there are 10,473 dwellings 12.1% of properties are flats with houses making up 87.9% of the housing stock. 76.2% of people living in the Knutsford area own their own house whilst 12.7% live in private rented accommodation.
During the last 5 years, 6,210 new private homes have been built across the local/unitary authority of Cheshire East, an average of 1242 per year.
Due to the Covid pandemic, many people are now reassessing their priorities and changing where they want to live and how they want to live. Reassessment of family values has become an important factor for many. Soaring levels of buyer demand are currently outstripping the number of homes for sale by the biggest margin at any time over the past decade and properties are selling at the fastest pace ever recorded.
The Bank of England forecasts that the economy will grow by 7.25% over 2021 as restrictions continue to be lifted. The economy shrank by 1.5% during the first quarter of 2021 but then steadily grew 2.1% in March. Interest rates remain at 0.1%.
Helen Davies, The Times and Sunday Times property editor, said: " The pandemic has taught us just how much we rely on our homes, our communities. With working from home now common, it’s no surprise many of us are reassessing our priorities and thinking hard about where we really want to live”.