DaveH
Striker
That could be a big part of it if gardens are not that common, it creates the demand.Detached and anything with a decent garden comes with a big premium in SR6 as it's quite rare - mostly terraces. And covid I think has only inflated those prices. The location keeps the prices high anyway too - a large terrace in Ashbrook would be about £100k more expensive in Roker. People love being by the sea.
I think in general, attitudes towards gardens are changing. I bought my first house 20 years ago and then moved 15 years ago. Both times some people used a small garden as a selling point. I know of a few people who said they would hate having a garden to look after. (I wanted a big one to have a good veg patch & shed). A fair few gardens we saw had just been turned to gravel pits. We looked at some lovely places and ended up disappointed when we saw a postage stamp garden on the back.
Now it looks like people are wanting gardens again. Decent garden buildings are becoming affordable, there is some very nice and comfortable outside furniture and big BBQ stations or pizza ovens are popular too and you can get some massive retractable canopies. I think people are starting to see gardens as an extension of their living space.
I know I've started to look at one area shaded by trees where nowt much grows between the shed and the pond and thinking I could make a shaded seated area up there. This summer we ate out early on then stopped because it was too hot and cooler in the house. I'd have some sort of roof as there is a lot of bird splatter up there and with a decked floor plus frame to hold the roof, I'm thinking if I just make them solid walls with big bi-fold doors, we suddenly gain an extra room. There is power and wifi up there already.