The number of Londoners purchasing country properties costing £2 million and above between January and June was at its highest level for any corresponding period since 2011.

This is according to Knight Frank’s latest Prime Country House Index, which also shows that the agency recorded an 8% rise in transactions for properties valued at £3 million or more between January and August when compared to the same period last year.

On a quarterly basis, prime country values in England and Wales dipped by 0.1% between July and September, taking annual growth to -1.7%, up from -2.3% the previous quarter.

Knight Frank reports that prices have now been falling on an annual basis for five consecutive quarters.

Annual growth for the average value of cottages was -2.4% in Q3, while farm houses (-1.7%), manor houses (-2.6%) and town houses (-2.2%) were at a similar level of annual growth when compared to the previous year.

“The number of prospective buyers currently looking to purchase a property in prime country markets with a budget of at least £2 million is 9% higher than at the same point in 2018, which suggests a robust level of demand within this market,” says Oliver Knight, associate at Knight Frank Residential Research.

“However, despite strong demand, supply remains constrained as vendors hesitate due to the political uncertainty.”

“Whilst this is likely to put a floor under pricing to some extent, prime markets will remain price sensitive for the remainder of 2019 and 2020,” he says.