West Sussex Property

Buying advice for country property in West Sussex

The area around Gatwick, the South Downs and the coastal strip around Chichester are as diverse as it is possible to be. Though it is close to London, West Sussex only has a population of only around 700,000 with no large cities and over half the county made up of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The northern and central part of the county is commuter country, out of the traditional commuting towns of Haslemere (over the border in Surrey) or Petersfield (over the border in Hampshire). Gatwick, with its half-an-hour train ride into central London is also popular with commuters, though urbanisation presses hard here with the new town of Crawley and the obvious blight of air traffic into Gatwick.

For country house buyers the South Downs are the jewels in the crown – and about as valuable due to scarcity. This scarcity is due to geography – villages and houses are thinly spaced - and the presence of four major estates (Petworth, Leconfield, Cowdray and Goodwood) which rarely release houses onto the market.

Along the coastal strip, there are villages, particularly on Chichester harbour, like Bosham, where big premiums are paid. There are others which can only be described as coastal sprawl of the variety that continues, without much let up apart from around Beachy Head, all the way to Dover.

For more information on buying advice and property searching in West Sussex, England, contact the Property Vision West Sussex property search and advice team.