Growing demand has seen a boom in the number of plots of land for sale in Norfolk, ranging from back gardens worth £5,000 to hundreds of acres up for £3m.
Normally land is scarce but there are currently more than 100 plots of land for sale across the county.
They include people's back gardens - such as one for sale for £20,000 measuring just 10m by 33m in Thorpe Market, near Cromer.
A rectangular parcel of garden in aa residential area, it also includes an outbuilding and is for sale as 'amenity' land but without planning permission.
Planning was turned down previously for a two-storey house there, its agents have said.
Prices vary - the cheapest are two parcels of land for sale for a guide of £5,000 to £10,000.
However, there's a snag. The plot of two acres between the Norwich to Great Yarmouth railway line and St Andrews Park has no easy access. It also comes with trees that are "dangerous and potentially threatening to life and property".
"Anybody taking on this land does so in full knowledge of this liability, which may be difficult to resolve due to access issues," Brown & Co stated.
The sudden influx of land available includes all kinds from lawned gardens to building plots, marshland, grazing acres, pastures, woodland, marshland and paddocks.
Ed Plumb, a partner in land agency, Brown & Co, said: "Amenity land is very desirable, people who have sat in their houses now want their own little bit of England.
"There is a huge desire for green space after Covid, people want somewhere as a retreat as there's been a change of perspective. So one or two acres are very popular as people can manage that easily.
"People are telling us they want to just have somewhere for dog walking or to sit and have a bench and enjoy nature.
"Camping pods, shepherd huts are also popular now so a lot of people are buying land to cash in on the staycation."
Current plots for sale include:
- Land at Cley Lane, on Sandy Hill Estate in Salthouse, which is for sale for £5,000 to £10,000. The land used to have agricultural buildings on it, and is situated down a track with views over the surrounding farmland and salt marshes towards the sea.
- Land Off Longmeadow Close, in Griston - for sale for £8,000. A former Anglian Water site of approximately 1,437 sqft.
- 13 garages with land on Dereham Road, Pudding Norton - for sale for £10,000.
- Two plots of three quarters of an acre each in The Grove, Holt, for sale for £300,000. These are based adjacent to the Grade ll Listed 'castle' property close to Holt and Gresham's private school. They come with planning for two single storey dwellings.
- Pooly Farm, Northwold, which is for sale for £3m. This is a family-owned farmland of 334.3 acres.
Tom Parish, head of the rural team at Savills in Norwich, said: “At the start of the year there was very low supply for farmland. Just 578 acres were openly marketed in the East of England up to the end of March – a drop of 57pc when compared to the same period in 2020.
"The lack of stock has meant that those who have brought land to the market early this year have been rewarded with strong sales as buyers’ momentum from 2020 continued."
Who are the buyers and sellers?
People are buying land to use for relaxation and space, while others want t build houses.
There are also environmentally conscientious buyers wanting to own woodland or a meadow and then there are investors looking for green assets.
Larger land parcels are coming to the market as more farmers take advantage of the government’s lump sum exit scheme to retire, while others are finding it difficult to adapt to the new post subsidy and Brexit environment, deciding to sell up.
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