Our delightful rural environment is dotted with every kind of home, from apartments and starter homes to country cottages, terraces and executive homes.

As with most regions, house prices vary from area to area, but when you consider that all represent much better value than those in Greater London (and in some cases are up to 50% cheaper), you can afford to get more for your money. For example, a flat in Warminster can cost as little as £89,000 – nearly £100,000 less than the £179,000 national average. Even in the more exclusive brackets, detached properties can be purchased for as little as £404,000 – a significant saving on the Greater London average of £598,000.

Always moving onwards and upwards, the draft Regional Spatial Strategy has identified the need to build 2,460 new homes each year for the next 20 years (that’s 49,200 by 2026).

Broken down by area this equates to approximately 225 for Chippenham, 250 for Trowbridge and 250 for Salisbury per year. Overall, annual allocations for the districts include 525 new homes for West Wiltshire, 500 for North Wiltshire, 250 for Kennet and 460 for South Wiltshire.

We also recognise the difficulties experienced by young people or those on lower incomes in taking the first step onto the housing ladder. Therefore, there are a number of initiatives in place across the district areas specificially to address these issues, including affordable housing and shared ownership schemes. The district councils can offer more information.