According to Knight Frank, prime country house growth is the slowest for two years. It grew by an average of 1.3% in Q3 2007, which is the slowest rate since the end of 2005.

This result means that the annual rate of growth slipped from 10.4% to 9.4% between Q2 and Q3 2007. The best performing sector of the market was the more expensive manor house market, with growth of 2.4% in Q3 2007 and an annual rate of growth of 11%. In addition, the average price of farmhouses increased by 1.3%, while cottages increased by only 0.3%.

Once again, the South West was the best performing region, with growth for larger properties hitting 4% in Q3 2007. Price growth has been led by the most expensive price brackets as properties worth £4m+ rose by 15.1% in a year, compared to only 8.1% for those priced less than £1m.

Around 42% of properties worth £5m+ in the South East are now bought by overseas buyers, which is the highest on record and well above the 34% figure in September 2006.