Urban green spaces raise nearby house prices by an average of £2,500

Homes close to parks, gardens, playing fields and other publicly accessible green spaces in urban areas of England and Wales are more expensive than they would be if they were further away, Office for National Statistics (ONS) analysis reveals.

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Houses and flats within 100 metres of public green spaces are an average of £2,500 more expensive than they would be if they were more than 500 metres away – an average premium of 1.1 per cent in 2016. 

The ONS looked at the details of more than one million property sales in England and Wales between 2009 and 2016 from property website Zoopla to estimate how much homebuyers value nearby green space. 

The analysis uses Ordnance Survey's Open Greenspace data, gathered using maps and aerial imagery. Public parks or gardens, play spaces, playing fields, sports facilities, golf courses, allotments or community growing spaces, and religious grounds and cemeteries are included – but woodlands, heaths and other open spaces that people might use for recreation are not. 

The data showed that that properties very near public green spaces attracted a premium, and the more green space nearby, the higher that premium is.  Public green space boosts the prices of detached houses the most. These homes attract a 1.9 per cent premium if they are within 100 metres of a public green space, but flats near green spaces are only 0.6 per cent more expensive than those further away. 

Homebuyers value being near to green spaces – probably because they can use them for leisure activities like dog walking, sport and exercise. Having a view of green space or water raises house prices even more.

Urban green spaces and house prices near you 

ONS has developed an interactive tool to show the difference that public green spaces make to house prices in each area. The tool covers urban areas in England and Wales.

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