The pandemic has liberated many Londoners from the nine to five and changed the rules on commuting forever.
Pre-Covid, most people considering a move from the capital would not countenance a commute of more than 60 minutes. WFH and hybrid working have untethered them from the magic hour.
The Evening Standard New Homes Awards honours both the best properties in the capital, and the best within its orbit, taking in flexible family houses, historic conversions, dream country escapes, and homes for first-time buyers.
These are our 2023 winners.
Family matters
Children are one of the biggest drivers of big lifestyle changes, and many Londoners decide to get out of town once they have kids. They hope for a more laid-back and wholesome way of life (and more bang for their property buck).
Great family homes need to be cleverly designed to offer the kind of free-flowing, open-plan areas families love, but with room for home offices, and — of course — outside space. Our judges’ pick of family homes priced up to £750,000 tick these boxes, and many more.
For buyers who yearn to live by the seaside, The Ashton at Lanthorne Place in Broadstairs, Kent (millwooddesignerhomes.co.uk) could be a great choice.
Within easy reach of the beach and highly rated schools, our judges were impressed by the user-friendly layouts and good gardens of the properties at the development.
Prices for a three-bedroom mid-terrace home start at £395,000.
If you’d prefer to be a little closer to London, the village of Southwater is less than 40 miles south of the capital, and three-and-a-half miles from Horsham. Our other best family home winner is The Starling at Broadacres in Southwater, West Sussex (berkeleygroup.co.uk).
It’s a worthy winner thanks to its stylish but cosy vibes and villagey setting. Prices for a three-bedroom house start at £540,000.
For family buyers with a budget of between £750,000 to £1.5m, our judges’ attention turned to the pretty Oxfordshire village of East Hagbourne, the setting for The Gillingham at Deanfield Green (deanfieldhomes.co.uk).
The houses on this site stood out for their traditional design coupled with great levels of energy efficiency. Prices range from £545,000 for a three-bedroom house to £925,000 for a five-bedroom home.
For a more contemporary aesthetic, and a location three miles east of the centre of Cambridge, The Beech at Marleigh on Newmarket Road, Cambridge (marleigh-cambridge.co.uk) is our other family home winner in this price bracket.
The development’s houses are well-designed, flooded with natural light, and in a wonderful leafy setting. Prices for a three-bedroom detached house start at £629,950, and £759,950 for a four-bedroom detached home.
With a budget of £1.5m, buyers have plenty of choice, and the award for best family home in this category went to a development in a great central location in Winchester — one of Hampshire’s most sought-after cities.
Our judges loved both the striking Art Deco architectural touches, and the modern and opulent interiors, of the townhouses at Royal Terrace, at Knights Quarter (berkeleygroup.co.uk). Four-bedroom houses start at £1.475m.
One of a kind
Some buyers want something a little bit out of the ordinary, and this desire is recognised in our awards for best conversion and architectural merit.
Work to convert a former tuberculosis hospital in the South Downs National Park has been going on for the past decade.
The latest offering on the King Edward VII Estate in Midhurst, West Sussex, are four homes within the hospital’s former engine house, where electricity to power the site was once generated.
This Arts & Crafts-style building has been carefully restored with the utmost care and highest standards of workmanship. Prices start at £855,000 (cityandcountry.co.uk).
If you would prefer a ready-made grand design over a slice of history then you will find it on the banks of the River Thames in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.
The winner of our architectural merit award, and the best out-of-London home, is Lowater, a contemporary house hidden from prying eyes behind a perforated brick facade.
The house is designed around a central courtyard featuring a stylish reflecting pool. Our judges loved the inspirational architecture by Fletcher Crane Architects (fletchercranearchitects.com), and the landscaped gardens which sweep down to the water.
The house was built by design and build specialist Castellum for a private client (castellum.co.uk).
Coast with the most
First-time buyers on a budget could take the shared-ownership route onto the property ladder, and the award for best shared-ownership development went to an eco-friendly seafront scheme, Grand Avenue, in Hove, East Sussex. It scooped the award thanks to its well-considered layout and communal spaces.
Prices start at £103,750 for a 25 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat (shnewhomes.co.uk).
Another seaside option — and winner of the best out-of-London home in a development with 100-plus homes — is The Lake House North at St Osyth Priory (cityandcountry.co.uk).
St Osyth is a far more under-the-radar seaside option than Hove. It’s a quiet Essex village with a coastal nature reserve and sandy beaches within walking distance.
The development is an unusual one. It’s a collection of 73 new homes being built in the grounds of a listed priory, and the scheme will feature a private residents’ walk through the secluded ecclesiastical estate.
Homes at The Lake House North have sold out, but there are other houses nearby on the development, Prices start at £435,000 for a three-bedroom semi-detached property.
Generation Kent
With its top-performing grammar schools, pretty market towns, picture-postcard villages, and lovely countryside — not to mention its easy transport links back to central London — Kent has long been the go-to option for Londoners looking for a change of pace.
And Kent developments also dominated in our New Homes Awards, with winners in commuter honeypot towns and sought-after villages.
Our prize for best boutique development went to Forest Gate House. This “best of both worlds” development is within walking distance of the shops, cafés and restaurants of Tunbridge Wells, and offers easy access to Kent’s High Weald. Our judges praised its “eye-catching” architecture, bold design touches and top-quality build.
Prices start at £350,000 for a one-bedroom flat, and £475,000 for a two-bedroom flat (knightfrank.co.uk; batchellermonkhouse.com).
Buyers often move to the home counties for peace and quiet, which is where small developments come into play.
Our top choice for schemes with fewer than 100 homes is a luxury hamlet of just 31 houses set within a 20-acre private estate in Kent.
These bespoke lakeside homes at Otium Lake, in Pluckley, were judged both beautiful and useful, thanks to low-carbon technology keeping running costs low (otiumlake.co.uk).
Our other star small development is set within the glorious High Weald countryside. Taking inspiration from traditional local buildings, Farmstead at Tannersbrook is a charming country enclave in the lovely town of Cranbrook.
Prices start at £595,000 for a three-bedroom house, and £695,000 for a four-bedroom house (farmsteadtannersbrook.co.uk).
Regeneration schemes aren’t restricted to inner cities, and the winner of our award for best regeneration scheme is Kings Hill, a massive project to reinvent a disused Second World War airbase as a sustainable new garden village, featuring 3,000-plus homes, three schools, a park, shops and offices. Prices start at £424,995 for a three-bedroom house (kings-hill.com).
More information on the Evening Standard New Homes Awards 2024 will be announced shortly.
