A stunning, tiny market town most people likely will never have heard of regularly clinches spots on lists exploring some of the poshest communities in England. The home nation is far from short on upmarket little towns, but most of them – including Richmond, Bakewell and Bury St Edmunds – are household names that attract thousands of tourists a year.
New Alresford is not one of those well-known towns, yet it bears all the hallmarks of a quintessential English community.
Stepping into the nearly two square kilometre Hampshire bolthole feels like travelling 70 years into the past, a fact not missed by many of its visitors.
But its size makes it exclusive, as homes in the community of just over 5,000 are nearly double the UK’s national average.
According to Rightmove, properties in the town sold for an average of £544,910 over 2023, far above the national average of roughly £290,000.
The already significant prices are split between terraced and detached properties, the latter of which rival some of those in London.
The property specialists found that detached homes fetched up to £847,500, while their terraced equivalents were valued at roughly £435,958.
The higher-priced homes far exceed the London average of £724,718 and are more than double the Hampshire area average of £408,522.
The prices have propelled New Alresford close to the top of lists exploring the UK’s most exclusive towns more than once.
In 2021, Halifax found the town had some of the biggest premiums in the country, with the area’s hitting 97 percent above average.
Locals reckon the medieval town is well worth the price and have touted a host of accolades to its name, including a 2007 Country Life award for “best market town”.
More recently, The Sunday Times selected New Alresford as one of the best places to live in southeast England in early 2023.
The town’s allure comes from the local Watercress Line steam railway and the annual Watercress Festival, both of which owe their name to Alresford’s reputation as the “Capital of Watercress”.
Otherwise, the community is well-known for its bevvy of walking opportunities, specialist shops, Eel House and Fulling Mill, all of which make for worthy stops on a day out in Hampshire.
Source: express.co.uk