Knight Frank’s South West team announce record year

Knight Frank’s Bath, Bristol, Exeter and Sherborne offices, in conjunction with the Knight Frank Country Department, handled the sales of more properties in excess of £2 million than any other year on record in 2019. 

In the wider South West region, sales are up 39% percent on 2018, achieving 98.1% guide price on average, resulting in 2019 being the most successful year since 2009.

Highlights of 2019 include the sale of Ashwick Court in Somerset, which sold in excess of the guide price to a designer from London. Others include the sale of two full houses on Lansdown Crescent in Bath, one of which also sold in excess of the guide price.

Oliver Knight, Associate, Residential Research said:  “The average price of property in the South West area has grown 8.3% in five years, with a 7% increase in the number of people viewing properties in the South West area between 2018 and 2019. With 311 schools/ nurseries rated OFSTED outstanding and 33 Michelin starred restaurants, it’s no surprise that buyers from all over the UK are being attracted to the South West. When looking at the sales of £2m+ properties throughout 2019, Londoners made up the biggest proportion of buyers at 38%.”

James McKillop, Partner and Team Head, Knight Frank Country Department said: “The year has been our most successful since 2009 in terms of prime sales across the South West region, which is down to giving good honest advice and recommending a strategy to sell a house, not win an instruction. Despite all the uncertainty for a large part of 2019, this will be a hard year to beat and with a decisive result in the general election, if we can secure the stock to sell, we feel optimistic for 2020. Pent up demand from frustrated buyers registered on our database continues to build. The perception of value compared to other regions of the UK is attracting lots of lifestyle buyers to the region, but despite this, a lack of prime stock was pertinent through 2019.”