Average price of detached home ‘increases by £24,000 since March’

Detached homes have piled more than £24,000 on to their value typically since around the start of the lockdown, analysis has found.

Several housing market reports have pointed to a mini-boom as the housing market has reopened for business – and those behind the new research said the push for larger properties as buyers search for more space appears to be driving this growth.

The price of a typical detached home in the UK increased by 5.3% or £24,137 between March and September, Halifax’s research in partnership with IHS Markit found.

This took the average price of a detached home to £477,098 in September.

Over the same period, the average price of a flat has increased at less than half this rate, at 2.5%.

In cash terms, the average price of a flat increased by £3,590 between March and September, to reach £147,450.

Many lenders have tightened up on low-deposit mortgage lending in the uncertain economy.

This could mean that more affluent homeowners who are higher up the property ladder and would perhaps be considering detached homes find that they have a greater ability to move than those with lower amounts of equity, who may be considering smaller properties.

After detached homes, semi-detached houses have seen the next biggest jump in value, with a 4.0% or £10,955 increase taking the average price of this property type to £286,861 in September.

The price of a terraced home has increased by 3.7% or £7,218 to reach £200,440 in September.

Given the trend for the prices of larger properties increasing at a faster rate, existing homeowners generally have found that prices for them are increasing at a faster rate than first-time buyers.

For those buyers moving between houses, prices have typically increased by 4% or £11,615 between March and September. That compares with an increase of 2.4% or £4,623 for first-time buyers.

The average first-time buyer property was priced at £197,585 in September, Halifax said.

A typical home mover property cost £299,170.

Russell Galley, managing director, Halifax, said: “We’ve seen a fundamental shift in demand from buyers as a result of increased home working and a desire for more space. There’s now evidence that it’s this push for larger properties that has been driving the mini-boom witnessed in the housing market since lockdown restrictions were first eased over the summer.

“This level of price inflation hasn’t deterred would-be buyers though, as in the three months up to September, we received more mortgage applications from both first-time buyers and home movers than at any time since 2008.

“However, we continue to sound a note of caution on the longer-term prospects for house price inflation, with the full economic impact of the pandemic likely to be felt more keenly over the winter.”