Appetite for a 'Project Home' Continues Apace

Greenslade Taylor Hunt reports a busy room and confident bidding at its July property auction at the Shrubbery Hotel in Ilminster, where land, barns, equestrian facilities and cottages in need of renovation drew buyers from across Somerset. Several lots beat expectations.

The top result was Shelves in Isle Brewers, near Taunton, a period cottage in 1.5 acres that had been owned by the same family for a century. Twenty-four parties viewed it before the sale, and against a guide of £250,000 competitive bidding took the hammer price to £330,000, £80,000 above guide.

Culvercroft Farm in Stoke St. Gregory, a period cottage with outbuildings in six acres needing full renovation, sold for £400,000, reflecting demand for lifestyle holdings and restoration projects. Sedgemoor Farm on Butleigh Moor Drove, Walton, a traditional barn with planning permission for conversion, made £245,000.

Smaller lots also sold well: 2.09 acres off Station Road, Buscott, Ashcott, fetched £56,000, and an equestrian facility at Coldharbour Farm, Donyatt, with stables, an all-weather arena and around 4.53 acres of pasture, achieved £78,000.

The firm says the results show the resilience of Somerset's rural property market and continuing enthusiasm for renovation projects, smallholdings and land with long-term potential. Its next similar auction was scheduled for Wednesday 16 September at Batch Country House, Lympsham, near Weston-super-Mare.

Source: Greenslade Taylor Hunt, original article (13 August 2026)