When Steventon House, near Basingstoke, in Hampshire, came onto the market last month, it had buyers queuing up, despite the £4.5m price tag. Indeed, the white, Grade II-listed, six-bedroom property, with 51 rolling green acres, went under offer within weeks.

The attraction? Well, apart from the bookish connection — Jane Austen penned Pride and Prejudice in a rectory on the site — the house was built in the early 19th century. And, just like our affection for Austen’s novels and brides-and-bonnets television dramas, the househunter’s love affair with Georgian property is a long and passionate one. It seems we can’t get enough of those clean lines and high ceilings.

Buyers will pay a significant premium for homes from the period (typically between 1720 and 1840) — an average of 43%, according to data from the online portal Globrix, which has been crunched by Savills. The research shows that this is the most highly prized of all eras, beating Edwardian and Victorian into second and third place respectively.

In London, buyers will pay up to 83% more for a Georgian gem, with a three-bedroom property costing about £1.4m on average. In the northwest and northeast of England, comparable houses carry 65% and 53% premiums.

In Oldham, near Manchester, where there are rows of Victorian terraces but few of the larger, more elegant Georgian homes, it is as much as 124%. The cheapest town, relative to the rest of stock on offer, is Nottingham, where buyers are prepared to pay just 13% extra. “There’s a cachet associated with owning a Georgian house,” says Marcus Dixon, a member of Savills’ research team. “It is seen as the pinnacle.”

So what, exactly, do these homes offer today? “If you go back to first principles, there is something in a Georgian property that responds to an innate desire for harmony and good proportions,” says Robert Bargery, secretary of the Georgian Group, a national charity dedicated to preserving buildings from the period. It even has its own estate agency (georgianproperty.com).

Names to look out for include Robert Adam, John Nash and William Chambers, who put their stamp on grand country houses and sweeping town terraces. Bargery points out, though, that the era also produced smaller homes: pretty terraces in places such as Islington, north London, and artisans’ “cottages” on landed estates.

“It’s about symmetry and proportion,” he adds — and, because of their relatively simple lines, they are flexible spaces and good family homes.

Mark Lawson, a partner at The Buying Solution, an upmarket property search agency, agrees. “The design works,” he says. “Room proportions are even, with a good balance between size and ceiling height. Most benefit from double aspect, which means the sun streams in at different times of day. And there’s a practical use of space.”

Colin and Judy Baulf have certainly found their Georgian home a practical place to bring up Maxwell, 18, Gresham, 15, Hedley, 13, and Hermione, 11. The couple, who bought the Old Rectory in Newport, Shropshire, about 10 years ago, love the spaciousness of the Grade II-listed, six-bedroom house.

“There’s room to breathe — you’re not tripping over each other,” says Judy, 52, a teacher. “It’s hard to clutter up a Georgian house, even with a dozen pairs of trainers kicking around, or school bags.” The couple now want to downsize, and are selling up (for £785,000 through Savills; 01952 239500, savills.com), but admit that they will miss the house. “We love it,” Judy says.

While the Baulfs may not describe themselves as Georgian “groupies”, there are those who restore every detail, down to the paintwork (muted shades of green and red), and insist on period furniture. Yet you’re just as likely to see plasma screens on the walls, underfloor heating and not a bust in sight, as the clean lines of Georgian buildings mean they appeal to modernists, too. As Judy puts it: “This house could have been built 10 years ago — it’s very contemporary.”

Georgian is so popular that Strutt & Parker estate agency recently removed it from the form buyers fill in to state their preferences, as it narrows the search too much and can cause disappointment. Edward Church, associate partner in Strutt & Parker’s Canterbury office, estimates that buyers will pay an average 10%-15% above the asking price for a Georgian property — especially one in immaculate condition.

Yet even this coveted sector of the market has not escaped the downturn. The recession allowed Ben and Anna Leigh to buy Brooklyn, a six-bedroom house near Romsey, in Hampshire, in need of refurbishment. The couple, who have three children — Isabella, 4, Maximus, 3 and Wilfred, seven months — bought it for £780,000 (it had been on the market for £795,000) at the end of the summer. “It’s an amazing family home,” says Anna, 31. “We didn’t think we’d be able to afford a Georgian property, so we’ve been lucky.”

Crispin Holborow, director of Savills’ country-house department, believes this is the exception, not the rule: “Georgian properties are safe bricks and mortar to invest in, especially when it is difficult to know where to put your money.” So your premium will be protected — and you never know, it might even become the star of the next small-screen Austen adaptation.

Simply the best

All the talk over the summer has been of a recovery in the housing market. The reason? High demand and a shortage of available homes. Yet new research from Savills shows that the condition of a property is also having a significant impact on price rises.

A lack of supply has meant that blighted properties — those that are in a secondary location, suffer from poorly laid-out accommodation or have been lingering on the market — have seen the highest price growth of 6.8% over the past six months, because they were disproportionately affected during the downturn. At the same time, the best located, most desirable homes — such as Georgian — have almost recovered to their peak 2007 value. In London, “best in class” properties are 4.6% below their 2007 peak, while high-value blighted homes are 16% below.

Outside the capital, the best property is 9.1% off the peak, compared with an average of 15.9% for all prime property and 24.8% for blighted homes.

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