The Midlands district, which includes West Bridgford, Bingham and Tollerton, ranked top in a new analysis from real estate firm Savills that rated places according to GCSE results, crime levels and the availability of three bedroom houses.
Yet in the country’s supposedly most family friendly location, less than one in three households has dependent children. Instead, the three local authorities most densely occupied by families, Barking and Dagenham, Newham and Slough, are among the least desirable areas to raise a family on the criteria used.
‘This suggests that affordability and employment inevitably take precedence when families choose where to set up home. According to our criteria, the best places to raise a family are mostly located in rural and semi rural areas,’ said Margaret Street, Savills director of residential research.
‘These places are often expensive, some way from major employment centres and dominated by retired households. The areas where high concentrations of families converge with good housing stock, decent schools and accessibility to employment, are predominantly urban,’ she added.
The research found that of the 25% of local authorities with the highest proportion of family households, the best ranked location to raise a family is Chiltern in Buckinghamshire. Here the average price of a three bedroom house is £392,000. This is over twice the price of a similar home in Rushcliffe.
Others in the top 10 command even greater price premiums, particularly St Albans and Three Rivers where the average three bedroom house costs more than £400,000.
Indeed, areas which scored well in the ranking and already attract a high proportion of families command a substantial price premium. The average price of a three bedroom home in these areas is 38% above the average for all areas with a high proportion of families.
‘Many families will be priced out of these markets. Some will look to other areas with good education, low crime levels and a more diverse supply of family housing but don’t offer the same access to employment markets. Others will be forced to accept a lower quality of family living, particularly in London where lack of accessible family housing is acute,’ explained Street.
The research also found that London boroughs make up 80% of the 20 worst locations for families to live, driven particularly by the lack of three bed plus properties. ‘This suggests the provision of more family housing across a range of tenures, is critical to addressing the intrinsic undersupply of housing in London and the South East,’ concluded Street.