The price gap between a typical first-time buyer home and a middle-market second-stepper home is the highest it’s ever been, analysis from Rightmove shows.
The average asking price for a 0-2 bedroom home was £226,955 in March.
The trade up to a middle-market, typical 3-4 bedroom second-stepper home would be a 52% jump to £345,857.
Colleen Babcock, Rightmove’s property expert, said: “The race for space that began during the pandemic caused a major shift between houses and flats, and it’s a shift we’re still feeling today.
“Flats, which make up a much larger share of first-time buyer homes and markets like London, have seen slower price growth, while houses have pulled further ahead. Concerns around leaseholds and ground rents are also likely weighing on flat prices.”
The price gap between an average flat, and an average house of any size is currently 26%. It’s only been larger once – at 27% in September 2025. The current average asking price of a flat is £301,338, versus £379,526 on average for a house.
Buyers in the South East find it hardest to make their second step. The average asking price for a first-time buyer type of home in the South East is currently £286,748, while a second-stepper home is 61% higher at 460,781.
London is second in the list, with a gap of 60% between a £491,661 first-time buyer home, and a £788,528 second-stepper home.
Trading up from a starter home is easiest in Yorkshire & The Humber, where the price of a second stepper home is £251,885, a 38% increase on the price of a first-time buyer home which is £182,029.
Matt Smith, Rightmove’s mortgage expert, added: “Inevitably trading up means borrowing more. Home movers usually take advantage of having built equity since the purchase of their first home to fund a larger deposit, meaning they have access to cheaper rates.
“If equity is reduced, this means home movers are likely to need to look at alternative strategies, either through reducing their mortgage balance by overpaying, or boosting their deposit through savings.
“They can look at taking more incremental steps up the housing ladder, or scout out alternative, cheaper locations.
“If buyers are facing the prospect of moving up the ladder at higher loan-to-values, lenders do have options to support this – powered up by recent changes to affordability rules by the regulators.”
