Living near green space: city homes near parks, golf courses and cemeteries command a house price premium

New report reveals the house price premium of living near green space in the city. 
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Vicky Shaw14 October 2019

City dwellers in search of cleaner air and greener views are prepared to pay a premium to buy a house nearby, according to a report released today.

Living next to green spaces such as parks, allotments, golf courses and playing fields boosts the price of an urban property in the UK by £2,500 on average, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found.

Having views of open greenery or stretches of water such as rivers, canals, lakes or the sea can command an even bigger price premium of around £4,600 — 1.8 per cent more than comparable homes without such views.

The ONS looked at more than a million property sales in urban areas of England and Wales between 2009 and 2016 to make the findings.

How much extra do you pay to live near green space?


It found that houses and flats within 100 metres of public green spaces are an average of £2,500 more expensive than they would be if they were more than 500 metres away, a price premium of 1.1 per cent.

Homebuyers value having green space nearby for leisure activities such as dog walking, sport and exercise, said the research.

Researchers looked at homes near public parks, gardens, play spaces and playing fields, sports facilities, golf courses, allotments and religious grounds and cemeteries but did not include areas of woodland, heaths or other open spaces.

Detached homes situated within 100 metres of a public green space can command a particularly high premium, adding around 1.9 per cent to the price, the research found, while flats near green space had a less pronounced price boost of only 0.6 per cent.

Larkhall Park in Stockwell: one of the capital's treasured green spaces
Daniel Lynch

Public parks or gardens, play spaces, playing fields, sports facilities, golf courses, allotments or community growing spaces, and religious grounds and cemeteries were included in the research using Ordnance Survey's Open Greenspace data alongside the ONS data and Zoopla property listings.

"Our analysis shows living near parks, gardens and playing fields or having a view over green space or water can have a real positive impact on the price of your house and the nearer the green space is, the higher the premium," said Adam Dutton, head of natural capital at the ONS.

"We are continuing to uncover and improve our measurements of the ways in which nature impacts on people's health, wealth and well-being in the UK."

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