Detached home prices grow three times faster than flats as Covid makes housing ladder hard to climb

The price of a detached house shot up three times faster than that of a flat in 2020, as lockdown drove buyers to seek out bigger homes with gardens.

Detached homes saw their value increase by 10 per cent or £43,364 last year, with the average cost reaching £486,595 by December.

This was according to data from the Halifax, which described it as ‘by far the biggest boom in the property market in the last 12 months’ and said that the gaps between the different rungs on the ladder were widening.

Sought after: Detached homes saw their value increase by more than £43,000 in 2020

Sought after: Detached homes saw their value increase by more than £43,000 in 2020

Home movers wanting to step up from a semi-detached home will now need to pay an extra £200,000 for the privilege, the biggest price increase across all house types. 

Estate agents said huge competition to buy bigger homes had driven up prices.  

Edward Heaton, founder and managing partner at buying agents, Heaton & Partners, said: ‘One of the things about spending long periods of time confined to your home is that it has really put a focus on the need for space – inside and out.  

‘Flats suddenly saturated the market, whilst demand shot up for country homes with supply staying very low, so it’s inevitable that we’ve got this sudden price inflation.’  

The average price of a semi-detached home last year was £287,313, according to Halifax – an increase of 6.3 per cent or £16,930 on 2019.

Meanwhile, terraced houses rose by £11,178 (5.8 per cent) to £202,540 and flats by just £4,533 (3.2 per cent) to £146,717.

The bigger, the better: Larger homes saw bigger price increases last year thanks to Covid

The bigger, the better: Larger homes saw bigger price increases last year thanks to Covid

Flat owners can now expect to spend an extra £55,823 to upsize into a typical terraced house, while those currently in a terraced property would need a further £84,774 to own a semi-detached home.  

So are flat owners who might be looking to sell in trouble? 

Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said that those with large city flats to sell might face difficulties, as people who would once have snapped them up were now opting for houses in more suburban locations instead. 

 ‘The pandemic has changed the way we think about property over the last 12 months,’ he said. ‘Buyers now turn up to viewings with a tape measure to see where the home-working desk will go.

Halifax has said that it now costs buyers more to move up the housing ladder than ever before

Halifax has said that it now costs buyers more to move up the housing ladder than ever before

‘Detached properties have benefitted from a desire for more space and an added sense of security. Large flats have seen the steepest drop in asking prices as houses of all sizes have become more popular, alongside more suburban and rural locations. A third national lockdown will only prolong this desire for more space.’ 

Those looking to buy a flat are in luck, however. ‘It’s a great time to be a buyer of a flat, with the potential to offer something quite competitive,’ Heaton said. 

Data from London estate agent Dexters says that 80 per cent of its buyers are looking for more space. 

Other priorities included access to outside space and proximity to green open space for relaxation or exercising, whether this is in the form of a park, riverside walkway or cycle lane.

Detached home price trebles in two decades 

Halifax’s research also revealed that the price of a detached home in the UK has trebled in two decades. In 2000, buyers could secure a typical detached property for an average of £164,827.

All property types have pretty much rebled in value over the last two decades.

All property types have pretty much rebled in value over the last two decades. 

However, the last five years have seen the sharpest price increases for those upsizing from a semi-detached to a detached home. In 2015, it cost around £148,540 to make the jump, with the gap widening to £199,282 in 2020. 

Meanwhile, those looking to move from a flat to a terraced home paid an extra £36,939 in 2015, rising to £55,823 last year. 

Those who moved from a terraced home to a semi-detached property paid £67,281 five years ago, rising to £84,774 last year.

Best mortgages

Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on them we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money, and keep it free to use. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to affect our editorial independence.

source: dailymail.co.uk