Based of Halifax's own house price data, the results show that over the last ten years the average UK terraced house price has increased by 239 per cent, closely followed by flats and maisonettes at 235 per cent.
Over the last five years the trend is a little different; terraced properties have still recorded the biggest average house price increase across the UK at 113 per cent but, the next biggest increase was seen by semi-detached houses at 95 per cent. Flats and maisonettes recorded more modest growth at 87 per cent.
Despite the strong growth in the price of terraced properties, detached houses still have the highest average price of all property types. The average price of a detached property in the UK is now £326,396, compared to £110,240 at the end of 1996.
In 1996 the average detached property would have been well under the Inheritance Tax (IHT) threshold of £200,000 (April 1997 this was increased to £215,000). Even with an increase in the IHT threshold in April this year (2007) to £300,000 the value of the average detached property will be well in excess of this.
Currently, the average detached property in the UK (£326,396) is now also well in excess of the £250,000 (3 per cent) stamp duty threshold.
The average price of all property types is now above the £125,000 (1 per cent) lower stamp duty threshold. In 1996 the lower stamp duty threshold was £60,000 so both the average terraced property (£54,945) and flat and maisonette (£58,046) were below this.
Price movements in the last ten years
Prices for terraced and semi detached houses as well as flats and maisonettes have more than tripled in the last ten years. Terraced properties have increased by 239 per cent since the end of 1996. Flats and maisonettes by 235 per cent and semi-detached houses by 211 per cent.
Over the last ten years, at a regional level, the biggest house price increases in the UK have been seen in terraced houses in Northern Ireland followed by flats and maisonettes in East Anglia. In the last ten years the average price of a terraced house in Northern Ireland has increased by 372 per cent, flats and maisonette in East Anglia have increased by 328 per cent.
More modest growth was recorded for semi-detached properties in Scotland. The average house price increase for a semi-detached property in Scotland was 129 per cent, followed by detached properties and bungalows at 147 per cent. However, the average price of a detached property in Scotland currently stands at £246,372 – well above the UK all property types average of £218,760.
When looking at detached properties, London experienced the biggest growth over the last ten years closely followed by East Anglia and the South West. Over the last ten years the price of the average detached house in London has increased by 237 per cent, in East Anglia by 223 per cent and by 221 per cent in the South West.
At a UK level, the value between the least and most expensive property type has decreased in the last ten years. The price multiple of the average detached property to the average terraced property (the least expensive property type) in 1996 was 201 per cent, in 2006 this was down to 175 per cent.
Current average house prices for different property types
Detached properties still command the highest premium followed by bungalows and then semi-detached properties. The average price of a detached property is currently £326,396, for a bungalow this figure is £215,839 and for a semi-detached house £197,992.
At a UK level terraced properties still have the lowest average house price of all property types. The average terraced property is currently £186,316, behind flats and maisonettes at £194,444. However, the gap between the average price of terraced properties and other property types has narrowed over the last ten years because of their stronger than average house price growth. In 1996 the average terraced property in the UK was 77 per cent of the all property average, in 2006 the gap had narrowed and this had increased to 85 per cent.
The average terraced property in the North is more expensive than a flat and maisonette in the region. The average terraced property in the North currently stands at £125,058 compared to £106,640 for flats and maisonettes.
Socio-economic changes
The latest figures from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) show that in the last ten years the number of one and two-bed new homes being built has fallen dramatically. In 1996 the number of one and two-bed houses (permanent dwellings) completed was 26 per cent of all properties built, in 2006 this figure had fallen to just 8 per cent.
Over the last ten years the number of new one and two-bed flats completed has increased substantially. DCLG figures show that in 2006 the number of one and two-bed flats completed as a percentage of all properties built was 45 per cent, up from just 17 per cent in 1996.
There has been a decrease in the proportion of properties containing the 'traditional' family unit. According to the available Office of National Statistics data in 1991 there were 22.4 million households, in 2005 this had increased to 24.2 million. Over this time frame the number of 'one person' households has increased from 6 million (27 per cent of all households) to 7 million (29 per cent) – at the same time the number of 'four people' households fell from 3.6 million (16 per cent) to 3.3 million (13 per cent).
Tim Crawford, group economist for Halifax Estate Agents, said: "Terraced properties have seen the largest average house price increases in both the last five and ten years. Although the average price of a terraced house is still below the UK all property average, the gap has narrowed.
"Our research shows there are big regional differences across certain property types. In many cases this is a result of the availability of property types and the composition of historic housing stock. For instance, the availability and popularity of flats in London is much greater than in other regions of the UK."
