THINK of a country house and the image that springs to mind is probably a quaint old rectory or rose-covered cottage. City-dwellers who dream of owning such a home would probably admit to the pull of nostalgia and the lure of a rural way of life associated with a former age.

However, a growing number of wealthy househunters are now looking for the exact opposite: a contemporary country house. Twenty per cent of country-house buyers at Hamptons International, the estate agent, are seeking new-build properties costing more than £2 million as opposed to traditional period homes.

This is a trend partly born of necessity, as Georgian country houses are rare and costly. A recent report by Knight Frank found that the average price of a manor house had risen by 11.6 per cent in a year, and 21.2 per cent for country houses priced at more than £4 million. Buyers are thus forced to consider new-build, which generally offers more square footage per pound.

The trend for contemporary is also a matter of taste. David Milligan, a former estate agent at Knight Frank, has set up Fairfax Properties, a development company specialising in new country houses, to cater for “buyers who wanted a classic Georgian house but without a kitchen in the basement and one bathroom miles from any of the bedrooms. We build new country houses to cater for an open-plan lifestyle.”

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A typical buyer of a new country house, according to Christine Green, of Hamptons’ country house department, wants a weekend retreat requiring minimal maintenance, so is unlikely to opt for a crumbling Tudor pile in 20 acres of land. “We have an increase in foreign buyers who like new developments. They own more than one property and need to be able to lock up and leave. Also, period houses don’t have the same relevance for them as for a British buyer.”

Knight Frank figures appear to bear out the rise of the foreign buyer: 14 per cent of prime country house buyers in the year to June 2007 were foreign, rising to 43 per cent for houses in the South East worth more than £5 million.

Two houses for sale at the moment exemplify the trend for the new. The Old Boathouse in Hurley, near Henley in Berkshire, is priced at £2.95 million. Despite the name, it is brand new – and looks it. The cedar-clad façade resembles an Ikea flat-pack chalet assembled in the dark, but the back view, with a dinky private boathouse, lagoon and river gate, is much more attractive. Inside is a vast open-plan kitchen/ dining/living area, with a bronze stone floor, a free-standing wood stove and a back wall made of glass. A first-floor gallery wraps round three sides of the space and leads onto the bedrooms (six in total). A flashy master suite on the second floor has an oval corner bath and huge windows. Unfortunately the view is of an ugly caravan park. Overall, the design is bold, but the best aspect of this house is the serene decking area at the back, which is lapped by the Thames.

Another oasis of Berkshire serenity is to be found on Finchampstead Ridges, near Wokingham, where high-tech indulgence meets nature. Situated among other palatial houses on a private road, “Wild Edge”, for sale at £3.25 million, is a long, low 1960s bungalow converted into a luxury five-bedroom house over two storeys. This is about as far from Georgian quaintness as it is possible to get. Every room, from the double-height living area, the master bedroom and the music room with sunken sitting area to the pool, steam room and gym, has huge windows looking out on a three-acre wooded garden.

The owners, John and Heather Keevill, are downsizing now that their children have left home. “John wants to move to London”, says Heather, “and we’re up at the opera every week anyway, so I thought, why not? The house would be perfect for a family: you feel you’re on holiday every day and are surrounded by wild-life. They’d need a big bank balance, obviously.”

To see more of the finest luxury properties for sale, go to: timesonline.co.uk/luxuryproperty

FACTFILE

The average detached house in Windsor and Maidenhead, the area that includes Hurley, costs £577,278, according to the Land Registry.

This falls to £394,507 in the Wokingham area, where Finchampstead Ridges is situated.

For more details, contact: Hamptons, 01494 672969, www.hamptons.co.uk ; Fairfax Properties, www.fairfaxproperties.co.uk , 0845 4585612.

AMERICANDREAM

FOR a new country house that’s really over the top, head for the United States. For $49 million (£25 million), you could be the proud owner of the steel tycoon Henry Frick’s former home in Alpine, New Jersey. Sotheby’s is selling the “English manor-style mansion”, left, built in the 1930s, with 13 acres of grounds that include a “swan pavilion”. The current owner is building a 25,000 sq ft house in the surrounding 60 acres, which he will offer for sale for just $35 million next year; “built with the discerning customer in mind”, it includes an indoor basketball court. Presumably you could form a team from the domestic staff or shoot hoops with celebrity neighbours such as the diamond-encrusted rapper P.Diddy. For more, see: estatesatalpine.com

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