A detached house is regarded as a dream for many home owners in the UK and new research shows buying one has become even more expensive, with prices up more than £125,000 in 10 years.
The average price of a detached house in the UK was £252,473 in January 2009 but today it is £377,945, an increase of £125,472 or 50% in a decade, according to research by online estate agents Housesimple.
The cheapest place to buy a detached home is in the North of England and Scotland. In the North East of England the average price has increased by just over £15,000 or 7.7% since 2009, less than a 1% price hike a year over the past 10 years.
The research also shows that it is the only region in the country where the average price of a detached house at £212,377 is below the current average UK house price of £228,147.
London is the most expensive region with the price of an average detached property up 87%, or more than £420,000 since 2009 to £906,825, followed by the South East up 67.9%, the East of England up 66.9% and the East Midlands up 49%.
In the South West the price of a detached house increased by 48.2 over the same period, in the West Midlands it increased by 40.3%, in Yorkshire and the Humber by 31.3% in Wales by 30%, in the North West by 27%.
The research looked at the number of detached properties currently for sale in London. There are just 3,412 houses sale and just over 1,784 are on the market for less than £1 million, with most of these in Travel Zones 5 and 6.
Barnet currently has the most detached houses for sale of any borough, with 490, but only a fifth are on the market at less than £1 million. Bromley has 455 properties for sale, with more than two thirds, some 69.9%, being marketed at less than £1 million.
‘Detached houses are seen by many as not just aspirational but also their forever home. However, our research seems to support the view that while many aspire to own a detached property, the reality is that affordability is a barrier to ownership,’ said Sam Mitchell, chief executive officer of Housesimple.
‘That may well be the case in London and surrounding areas, but for those families who are willing to look further afield, detached home ownership may not be so far-fetched. We found five regions where the average price of a detached house is either less than, or close to, the average UK house price. For families living in cramped one bedroom flats in central London that is a tempting proposition,’ he pointed out.
‘A better quality of life isn’t just about moving out of polluted city centres, it’s also about a better family life at home. And more space, bigger gardens, not being able to hear your neighbours through the paper thin walls, make detached living highly desirable,’ he explained.
‘And the availability of substantial detached homes, that are still affordable, is one of the reasons why we’re seeing more people moving north to areas such as Yorkshire and the North West,’ he added.
