Flats cost more than any other property type in UK

Flats have outstripped all other property types by price over the past ten years, new research from Halifax reveals.

A flat cost £145,874 on average in 2005 compared to £233,424 in 2015. This is a 60 per cent increase in ten years, considerably larger than for all other residential property types where prices have risen by 38 per cent over the same period.

This disproportional development is mainly due to the London market, with flats being the leading type of property for sale or let. The capital has seen a 67 per cent rise in flat prices since 2005. London flat account for almost half (49 per cent) of sales, while other types of property account for just 17 per cent of sales.

Detached homes and bungalows have recorded the smallest rises over the last ten years, of 21 per cent and 28 per cent respectively.

Flats cheapest in the North

A typical flat currently costs less than £120,000 in the North, East Midlands, Wales and Yorkshire and the Humber, and between £120,000 and £145,000 in the North West, West Midlands, Scotland and East Anglia. At £370,281, a typical London flat is considerably more expensive than flats anywhere else in the UK.

While flats have been the best performing property type over the past decade in Greater London, Scotland and the South West, there are regional differences.

Semi-detached properties have risen most in value in the South East, East Anglia and the East Midlands, whereas terraced homes have been the best performing property type in five of the 11 regions (North, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, West Midlands and Wales).

The average price of a terraced home is between £119,000 and £143,000 in all regions outside southern England.

All property prices grow in last five years

All property types have seen price rises in the last five years but flats lead the way again with a 47 per cent increase. Terraced properties saw the second-largest increase of 33 per cent between 2010 and 2015. Detached homes experienced the smallest growth, of 12 per cent.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, commented:

“Flats have recorded larger prices gains over the past ten years than any other property type. The national increase in flat prices has been led by London where flats account for roughly one in two property sales; substantially higher than for the country as a whole.

“Overall, semi-detached and terraced homes have remained the most popular types among purchasers. First-time buyers have switched to some extent away from flats –reflecting their large price increases – towards semi-detached homes over the last decade.”

First-time buyers prefer flats and terraced homes

There has been a far more significant increase in the number of first-time buyers over the past five years compared with the number moving home.  This difference is reflected in a bigger rise in prices since 2010 for those property types – flats and terraces – that are most popular with first-time buyers.