Alderley Edge is part of Cheshire’s glamorous “Golden Triangle,” an area south of Manchester that includes Knutsford, Prestbury and Mottram St. Andrews, which have some of the northwest’s most expensive homes.
The Cheshire village is known for being popular with Premier League footballers and has regularly featured on ITVBe’s “The Real Housewives of Cheshire.” It has a destination high street and a number of roads lined in million-pound homes.
Over the past year, a meaningful gap has developed between supply and demand in Alderley Edge, said Mark Holden of Savills Wilmslow office.
“This has resulted in there being increased competition for homes and buyers paying above the asking price,” Mr. Holden said. “Sellers have pulled out of sales because they can’t find a suitable property, and some homes are selling before they hit the main portals.”
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New buyer registrations are up 300% compared with March 2020 and up 250% over March 2019, said David Fell, a senior analyst at estate agency Hamptons. “So, despite a similar number of homes on the market as last year, would-be buyer numbers have increased threefold. This compares to a 70% year-on-year increase in the North West.”
As a village on the outskirts of Manchester, Alderley Edge has always attracted buyers from Manchester’s swankier southern suburbs, Mr. Fell said. “But the current race for space has supercharged these numbers with Alderley Edge one of the key beneficiaries.”
Boundaries
Alderley Edge lies 12 miles south of Manchester, between Wilmslow (2.6 miles), Knutsford (8 miles) and Prestbury (5 miles), at the foot of a red sandstone escarpment it is named after. The scenic viewpoint looks across the Cheshire Plain toward Manchester.
Warford Lane runs along its western edge while Hough Lane sits west of its eastern edge. Its southern border is formed of Welsh Row and Artists Lane and its northern border lies south of Pendleton Way.
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Price Range
In Alderley Edge, a two-bedroom period cottage starts from £375,000; a four-bedroom, two-bathroom estate house, built in the 1960s and 1970s, costs from between £700,000 and £1.2 million; and individual detached houses start from £1.5 million, according to Mr. Holden.
A budget of £6 million would buy a 10,000-square-foot house with an indoor pool and a gym and large garden within the village, said Crispin Harris from Jackson Stops’s Alderley Edge office.
Exclusive data from Hamptons reveals that Cheshire’s top 10 most expensive streets over the past 12 months include three roads in Alderley Edge, including greater Cheshire’s most expensive. Congleton Road tops the list, with average values standing at £2,320,330; Macclesfield Road (£1,581,667) is in eighth position and Trafford Road (£886,870) is in 10th.
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Housing Stock
Alderley Edge has both period and modern properties, Mr. Holden said, who has sold houses in the area for more than 20 years.
The village has large, turn-of-the-20th-century villas, or detached houses, with “decent-sized” gardens, ranging from between 0.75 acres and 1.2 acres, according to Mr. Holden. Their Arts-and-Crafts style share a similar look to homes on Lake Windermere in Cumbria’s Lake District National Park, since owners often had second homes there, Mr. Holden said. Many of Alderley Edge’s villas are renovated single homes.
The villas can be found on roads leading up to “the Edge” including Woodbrook Road, Congleton Road, which has views over Cheshire Plain, Whitebarn Road and Beechfield Road. Last month, Savills sold a classic Victorian villa on Woodbrook/Underwood Road for just under its asking price in excess of £3 million, Mr. Holden said.
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For the most part, Alderley Edge has escaped over-expansion and many of the original villas retain their original plots, he added.
According to Bridgfords estate agency in Alderley Edge, must-have high-end amenities include a tennis court, a pool, a gym and leisure suite, a cinema room, a high-end kitchen, a double or three-car garages and gated entrances.
Many of the historic homes in the area have updated interiors, such as this modernized kitchen.
SavillsWhat Makes It Unique
In the late 19th century, the previously rural spot became a popular place to live. Many Manchester businesspeople, enticed by its smog-free, green surroundings, relocated there and built fine villas on its slopes.
The railway company encouraged development through an incentive scheme in which commuters were offered a free, 20-year season ticket if they built a home of a certain value in the village.
Alderley Edge is a friendly village, with a smart feel in an urban kind of way, Mr. Harris said. “Its high street is full of interesting shops and has a café culture. You’ll see a handful of supercars parked along its London Road high street on weekends.”
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Though Alderley Edge mostly retains its quiet, low-key vibe, it draws people from outside the village because of its reputation for being home to sports stars. Its London Road high street is a place to be seen on the weekends.
Ideal for business types, it is six miles from Manchester airport and railway services to Manchester in half an hour. Wilmslow (2.6 miles) and Macclesfield (8 miles) both have railway stations with services to London that take about 2 hours.
Luxury Amenities
Alderley Edge’s smart dining joints include Italian restaurant Piccolino, upmarket Chinese eatery Yu, Lebanese restaurant Yara and the Bubble Room bar and restaurant, all of which are located on its London Road high street.
For bright, modern pieces, head to independent fashion retailer Tuula, and the flagship store of Coggles, which stocks designer fashion homeware and beauty brands including Tom Dixon and Helmut Lang. For pampering, there’s the Beauty Works beauty salon.
Alderley Edge’s schools are a big draw. It has Alderley Edge School for Girls, an independent girls’ school for pupils aged 2 to 18; The Ryleys School, an independent coed prep school for children aged 2 and 11; and Alderley Edge state primary school. There’s also The King’s School, an independent coed school for pupils aged 3 to 18 in Prestbury, near Macclesfield, about eight miles away.
The village also has a thriving tennis club and a cricket club, and there are a number of golf courses in the local area, according to local agents.
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Who Lives There
Alderley Edge’s population of around 5,000 includes an “eclectic mix” of people working across a diverse range of industries. They include famous footballers, former soap stars, successful entrepreneurs, people in high-paying roles in the finance and IT software industries. There are also solicitors, lawyers and retired employees of AstraZeneca’s former Alderley Park site in Cheshire.
Notable Residents
Some of the biggest names in football have owned a home here including Cristiano Ronaldo (who sold his property in 2018 after having lived there between 2006 and 2009), Rio Ferdinand and Eric Cantona. Ex-Manchester City player Dwight York is also a former resident. It has been a hotspot with top footballers ever since David and Victoria Beckham lived there from 2001 to 2005.
Former “Coronation Street” actor Richard Fleeshman is reportedly a resident, according to the Daily Mail.
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Outlook
Prices in Alderley Edge sawstrong price growth from 2019 to 2020, with average values rising from £682,570 to £767,360, according to data compiled by Hamptons.
In April, it took an average of just 12 days to sell a home in Alderley Edge, compared to 19 days across the North West and 23 days nationally, according to Hampton’s findings.
Mr. Holden said that the pandemic has created greater demand for properties outside of the village center, noting it’s a trend he has not seen in 12 years. “More homes are likely to come to market in May and June as that’s when gardens are starting to look more photogenic,” he added.
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