According to new research carried out by the Halifax, property prices in rural areas are being boosted thanks to the increasing prevalence of flexible home-working.

The figures revealed that the premium paid by those wanting to live in rural villages and small towns has skyrocketed from £20,000 to £27,000 over the last 10 years.

This has been directly attributed to the increasing popularity and acceptance of working from home and the work-life balance employees can enjoy through flexible working and less time spent commuting to and from the office.

The latest Halifax Housing Review – which classes ‘rural areas’ as those which have less than 10,000 people living in them – said that the house prices had risen by almost £70,000 since 2001, often at the expense of property prices in larger cities.

Rural areas also suffered less in terms of property price falls during the credit crunch than homes in more urban areas did.

Head of rural lending at Savills Private Finance, Mark Ashbridge, told the Financial Times, “They [changes in technology] have made it possible for more people to work from anywhere, and flexible working hours mean that people can do more work from home, which makes it easier to live outside cities.”