The pandemic has driven prime country house prices to their highest levels since before the financial crisis in the first quarter of this year, according to data from Knight Frank.

Country homes valued at £5m and above saw average prices increase by 7.3% in the first three months of 2021, taking the annual rate of growth to 15.8%, the survey says “with tight supply a contributing factor”.

Prime country homes outside London lifted by 6.7% in the year to March.

The Knight Frank £5m-plus Index adds: “Buyers have continued to seek more space, greenery and privacy post-pandemic, exploring a new work/life balance that could see many working from home more often after current restrictions end in June.”

It adds: “The escape to the country trend drove annual price growth to its highest level since before the [2007] global financial crisis in the first three months of 2021.”

In the year to March, the number of exchanges between £5m to £10m in the regions jumped by more than any other price bracket, up 85% compared to the previous twelve months to March 2020.

Overall, UK exchanges outside the capital, lifted by 38% in the same period, Knight Frank data shows.

Interest in this prime segment has been strong over the last year.

New prospective buyers shopping for homes between £5m to £10m in the country in the twelve months to March “was the strongest performing price bracket”, up 116% on the previous year, says the report.

This compares with an increase of 39% across all price brackets.

The report points out that price growth for higher-value properties has been weaker than the wider market in recent years “due to a series of tax changes, leaving greater scope for rises”.

It says that overall house prices in England and Wales grew 32% in the five years to February 2021, but homes in the £5m-plus range “only increased by 6% in that time despite the recent pandemic-fuelled bounce”.

However, the index says that supply in the high-end bracket has tightened over recent months.

It says: “A combination of concern over new Covid variants and the challenges of home schooling led to pent-up supply as sellers held off during the third national lockdown. This will have delayed some sellers’ preparations for the spring market and supply may start to increase in coming weeks.”

The estate agent adds that market valuation appraisals were above the five-year average for the first time this year in March, up 5%, “and have continued to climb since”.

It says the number of viewings in the firm’s country unit in March was the highest since last autumn, and the number of prospective buyers in the same month was the fourth highest in the past decade.

The number of offers accepted in its country unit in March was the highest in ten years.