Experience the Exceptional. Contact us today and let us know how we can help you.
We would love to hear from you.
London’s Loss Has Been Surrey’s Gain
For years, moving to Surrey meant leaving London behind. Increasingly, I’m seeing buyers choose the countryside first.
For a long time, there was a fairly predictable progression in the prime property market.
You bought in London.
Life changed. Children arrived. You wanted more space.
And eventually, you moved to Surrey.
The country house was the next chapter.
I’m not sure that’s true anymore.
Increasingly, I meet buyers who aren’t reluctantly leaving London for the countryside.
They’re choosing Surrey over London in the first place.
And I think that’s quite a significant shift.
The Compromise Has Disappeared
Twenty years ago, moving out of London usually meant accepting a trade-off.
More land, certainly. A larger house. Privacy.
But London had the restaurants, the clubs, the hotels, the people and the energy.
Today, that gap feels considerably smaller.
The working week has changed. People don’t necessarily need to be behind a desk in Mayfair five days a week. Drivers make the journey into London straightforward. Heathrow is accessible. Some of the country’s best schools are nearby.
And when you are at home, you can have something London simply can’t offer at the same scale.
Space.
Not just another bedroom.
A proper garden. A swimming pool. A tennis court. Somewhere for the children to disappear to. Somewhere you can have twenty people for lunch and nobody is sitting on top of each other.
For many buyers, that’s stopped feeling like a compromise.
The Money Has Followed
You only need to look at what has happened across Surrey’s best private estates.
St George’s Hill, Wentworth and the Crown Estate continue to attract extraordinary homes and significant investment.
The quality has changed too.
The best houses in Surrey today can offer the architecture, interiors, technology, wellness and service infrastructure you’d expect from the very best homes anywhere in the world.
Except they’re sitting behind private gates, surrounded by gardens and within reach of London.
That’s a difficult proposition to compete with.
London Still Matters
I’m certainly not predicting the demise of prime London.
There will always be buyers for whom Chelsea, Mayfair, Belgravia or Knightsbridge is exactly where they want to be.
And rightly so.
But I do think the assumption that London automatically comes first has changed.
For some of the buyers we work with, the Surrey house is no longer the weekend house or the house they move to when the children arrive.
It’s home.
London is somewhere they go when they need it.
That’s quite a reversal.
For years, Surrey was where people moved when they were ready to leave London.
Now, for some buyers, it’s becoming the first choice.
And London’s loss has very much been Surrey’s gain.
TK
Share Journal
Back to JournalFor a no-obligation introductory conversation, get in touch with us today. Let us provide the security and peace of mind you deserve.