Locals living in the Cotswolds have long complained of celebrities and wealthy financiers invading their quaint streets and buying property en-masse during the pandemic.

Despite the ‘race for space’ boosting the value of the area, residents have moaned that their new neighbours had ‘ruined’ their towns. 

But now, after years of bashing the likes of Ellen Degeneres and Kate Moss and begging newcomers to stay away, residents living in the exclusive countryside enclave may have finally got their wish. 

This year demand for homes in Britain’s most sought after postcodes have plummeted with prices falling by 12 per cent between late 2022 and the end of last year, according to estate agents Savills.

A string of shop owners and residents in Woodstock, which has seen the biggest drop in interest since 2021 with a 54 per cent fall, told the Daily Mail that the area has lost its charm. 

Christian Schofield, 49, compared Woodstock to ‘central London’ despite moving to the village for some peace and quiet. 

‘I think the Cotswolds has got a bit too big for its boots,’ the surveyor said. 

After years of bashing the likes of Ellen Degeneres and Kate Moss and begging newcomers to stay away, residents living in the exclusive countryside enclave may have finally got their wish

Price growth accelerated in the Cotswolds during the pandemic but has slipped in recent years

This year demand for homes in Britain’s most sought after postcodes have plummeted with prices falling by 12 per cent between late 2022 and the end of last year

Supermodel Kate Moss has called the Cotswolds home for over two decades, owning a 10-bedroom Grade II-listed manor in Little Faringdon

‘I’ve lived here 15 years and have seen big changes. It’s become too trendy. It’s like living in central London but one of the reasons why people moved out here in the first place was to get away from all of that.

‘Everything is more expensive. I think people are waking up and maybe thinking, is that barn really worth £3 million? Normal people just can’t afford to live here anymore.’ 

Prices in the area soared during the pandemic until the notorious mini-Budget of September 2022 which resulted in economic turmoil and a spike in mortgage rates.

Savills said international buyers in the Cotswolds accounted for just over a fifth of sales above £1.5million while almost half of buyers are from London. 

Geoff Naf, 57, owner of Woodstock Butchers, said the area was no longer attractive to those who had lived in Woodstock before it became ‘trendy’.

He said tourists are showing up to try and spot the likes of Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi, who bought a 43-acre property for £15million in 2024, but don’t spend any money in the town. 

And with Soho Farmhouse – a private members’ club complete with restaurants, a spa, and outdoor activities – just down the road, local businesses are struggling to get visitors through their door. 

Johanna Moss, 55, who has run a family-owned café for 16 years has been forced to sell the business. 

The highest value markets in the Cotswolds include Burford, Stow-on-the-Wold and Kemble

Beyoncé and Jay-Z poised to create an impressive countryside retreat 

Despite the ‘race for space’ boosting the value of the area, residents have moaned that their new neighbours had ‘ruined’ their towns

‘It has gotten harder, margins are hard to work with, everything goes up’, she said.

Meanwhile, Woodstock could lose its only post office within just a few years.

The postmaster, Mr Lally said: ‘The lease is running out in 2028 and I won’t renew it. 

‘The town will suffer because once you lose a post office it’s a nightmare to get it back, you never get it back. It’s just not feasible.’

Dozens of high-end properties listed in across the Cotswolds have also had their prices cut in recent months as sellers struggle to find a buyer amid the economic uncertainty.

Yet the area has become a magnet for the famous with Kate Moss, Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres all snapping up grand homes.

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi bought a 43-acre property for £15million in 2024.

They then listed the refurbished estate for sale for £22million last July – before taking it off the market six months later in January when they failed to find a buyer.

Meanwhile, Beyonce and Jaz-Z are the latest in a series of American celebrities to be drawn to the fashionable Cotswolds. 

It is understood they are on the verge of buying 18 acres in Oxfordshire for a ‘spectacular rural estate’.