The Riversmeet ward in the Cotswolds is home to some of the country’s prettiest villages, such as Sherborne and the Barringtons. Our analysis shows that it also contains the highest proportion of listed buildings – 25.6 per 100 people. The average property price in the ward during 2016 was 91% above the average for Gloucestershire.  In the neighbouring ward of Ampney-Coln, where there are 18.9 protected buildings per 100 people, the premium above the county average was 176%.

By studying more than 350,000 listed buildings across England, across 7,000 electoral wards, we have pinpointed those areas with a high concentration  of listed properties per head of population. 

Homes located in areas where the number of listed buildings is greatest are worth, on average, 44% more than others  in the same county. By contrast, those with few  listed buildings are almost 20% cheaper.

With this direct correlation between heritage and house price, we can see how highly valued our history is, and the high level of demand to live in historic areas. And it’s not just rural locations that include these premiums. In the central ward of Lansdown in Bath, the average sale price of £797,000 in 2016 was 196% above its county average.

While we can see where buyers will pay a premium for historic surroundings, this analysis also shows where buyers seeking history can find relative value. Chester, for example, has 13.9 listed buildings per  100 people, yet its average sale price of £198,000 in 2016 was 13.4% lower than the average for Cheshire,  a high-value but comparatively ‘new’ county.