The market for country homes looks to be improving as the rate at which prices are falling slowed during the second quarter of 2009, figures show.
Estate agent Knight Frank said the average cost of a prime country property fell by 0.9% during April, May and June, compared with a 4.7% fall experienced in the first quarter of the year.
But country piles in the Home Counties were as popular as ever, with prices for manor houses and farmhouses bucking the trend and rising by an average of 0.8%.
Those with a few pennies to spend also seemed to be boosting the top end of the market, as homes costing more than £5 million across the whole of the UK saw their values rise 2.2% during the time period.
Andrew Shirley, Knight Frank's head of rural property research, said: "We are now seeing real evidence that we are very close to the bottom of the prime country house market with prices already rebounding slightly in some areas.
"Ironically, it appears that London, which initially looked like it was going to be hit hardest by the credit crunch following the collapse of financial giants like Lehman Brothers, has recovered in confidence the quickest.
"Well-paid City workers now feel more secure in their jobs and sizeable bonuses already seem to be back on the agenda."
As well as the group selling more properties in the Home Counties during June than in any month for the past three years, there was also a 15% increase in potential new buyers registering compared with the same month of 2008, Mr Shirley said.
Price rises were also strong in the Cotswolds, where many Londoners buy second homes, with the average cost of country houses in the area rising by 3.4% during the three months.
But the group cautioned that despite the improvement seen in the Home Counties and the Cotswolds, it was too early to say the market was on its way to full recovery.
Scotland continued to see steep price falls of 6.3% during the second quarter, while the value of country property dropped by 4% in the North East and by 3% in the North West of England.
Copyright © Press Association 2009