The rural housing markets on either side of Bedford are distinct. To the south, there is more space for new-build developments around villages and a better road network. These villages have historic centres and a “healthy supply” of new-build properties along with period cottages and renovated 1970s detached family homes, all bordered by countryside.
Silsoe is an ancient village with a nature reserve and plenty of homes available. The nearest station is at Flitwick, 2.7 miles away, and the train takes 45 minutes to St Pancras. Fitzjohn describes nearby Ickwell and Northill, just off the A1, as the area’s “designer villages”.
The north of the county is prettier but more remote, he continues: “It takes 15 minutes to drive five miles along winding lanes and it doesn’t have the density of housing so there is less choice.”
The housing market in Bedford itself is busy and it doesn’t have enough period architecture to meet demand.
“We are seeing families move back into Bedford to be more involved in the school scene. If I have a Georgian or Victorian townhouse, I can sell it in a month or so,” Fitzjohn says.
The smartest move in the knowledge belt
Bedfordshire has another unique quality – it is the cheapest county in the knowledge corridor – that belt that stretches between Oxford and Cambridge, and down to London.
The two historic cities, the dual capitals of Britain’s university system, suffer from the same housing market constraints as London. The dense city centres, packed with listed buildings and revered architecture, combined with a restricted supply of new homes, means affordability levels are stretched. Asking prices sit at £571,388 in Oxford and £606,823 in Cambridge.
The latter is almost double that of Bedford.
“It is hard to find any other value counties in the country that sit between two such important and premium cities with such a high-skilled jobs market,” says McDonald.
Effectively you can earn an Oxford or Cambridge-level salary, live in Bedford and drive to Oxford in an hour and a half and Cambridge in under an hour, a few days a week.
It is the lack of train connectivity to the east or west of Bedford that keeps house prices lower, but this could all change if the extension of the East West Rail goes ahead.
