Old Basing is lived in by people who bought, settled and saw no reason to leave. About eight in ten households own their home. The typical resident is past fifty. Fewer than one in five is aged between 25 and 44. The young families are here, surrounded by neighbours who finished that stage and kept the four-bedroom house anyway.
All the population figures on this page come from the 2021 Census, which counted 4,441 people in Old Basing. About 79% of households own their home, outright or with a mortgage. Private renting accounts for about 10% and social renting about the same. That's a village of freeholds and long residence, where "For Sale" boards go up rarely and "To Let" boards more rarely still. The estate agent who tells you there's always something coming up here is describing a different village.
The median age is 51. Only about 18% of residents are in the 25 to 44 bracket, the age range that usually fills the school gate and the first-time-buyer market. Old Basing's age profile is what happens when people move in during their thirties and forties and are still here thirty years later. It gives the place stability, and it's why the housing market moves slowly.
Gross household income, before tax, averaged about £66,600 across the area in the financial year to March 2023, a modelled figure that describes that year, not today. It's a comfortable income, and it helps explain how a village with this many detached houses and bungalows keeps its owners.
Household make-up tells the same story from another angle. About 28% of households are one person living alone, and about 16% are single pensioners, who are part of that 28% rather than in addition to it. Couples with children make up about 20% of households, and lone parents about 6%. The rest are mostly couples whose children have left, which is why the spare bedroom is a standard feature and the loft conversion is optional. Communal living, such as care homes, accounts for 65 people, too few to change the picture.
Qualifications are mixed. About 39% of residents hold a degree-level qualification, about 14% have no formal qualifications, and about 1% are full-time students. That's a mix of graduates and people who built careers without the paperwork, living on the same roads. What it isn't is a student area; anyone looking for a busy late-night scene will find the village closes early.
Old Basing's people are one of its real strengths: settled, owner-occupied, comfortable and in no hurry to move. A buyer who joins them should be ready to stay a while, because that's what everyone else did.