Yahoo Finance Escape to the country causes surge in detached home sales
One in three properties sold are now detached homes as families leave cities and towns for wide open spaces.
The proportion of buyers choosing detached homes has increased from 25pc to 32pc in the past decade, according to lender Halifax.
Kim Kinnaird, mortgages director at Halifax, said the growing popularity of detached homes “reflects a desire or need for more space”.
She said: “With many businesses continuing to embrace hybrid working, we’ve seen people take the opportunity to find homes that better suit their lifestyles in locations that might not have been practical with a daily commute to consider.”
Experts said high demand made this an opportune time for downsizers to sell their homes.
Terraced homes have lost the most interest, falling from 26pc to 21pc of sales.
Semi-detached homes made up for 28pc of UK sales in the last year to the end of March, followed by terraces with 21pc, flats with 12pc and bungalows (7pc) making up the rest.
Ms Kinnaird said terraces are now increasingly seen as the “first rung on the housing ladder”.
She said: “The relatively poor energy efficiency of many older terraced homes could also be a factor when buyers are looking at household running costs as energy costs look set to remain high.”
She said families tend to choose detached homes as a “forever home”, often after trading up from smaller properties.
Tom Bill, head of residential research at estate agents Knight Frank, said the increasing demand meant it was a good time for those already living in detached homes to downsize and cash in.
Mr Bill said a surge in older homeowners retiring during the pandemic has already triggered an increase in downsizing.
Many retirees live in homes that are larger than their needs but stamp duty taxes discourage them from moving to smaller homes.
Despite their increasing popularity, detached homes are less widely available than other property types, giving their sellers a potential advantage in the market.
There are 4.21 million detached homes in England and Wales, making up 16pc of homes, according to the latest official figures from 2021.
There are 6.93 million terraced houses and 6.10 million flats, accounting for 26pc and 23pc of all homes respectively.
The average age of a home mover is 39, a year younger than 12 months ago, and two years younger than in 2013.
Halifax said the declining age could reflect more older homeowners deciding to extend their homes rather than moving.
Kate Eales, head of regional agency at Strutt & Parker, also said she was seeing a rise in sellers downsizing this year.
She said: “With significant equity built up, often over decades, many are motivated to sell now to release money so they can help children or grandchildren make a first or second step on the housing ladder, in light of increased mortgage rates.
“This trend should see more coveted family homes coming to the market and is encouraging for young families who are making a big ‘forever’ move.”
Detached homes have had the biggest surge in Northern Ireland, climbing from 32pc to 45pc of sales in the past decade.
They were most popular in the East Midlands, accounting for nearly half (45pc) of all sales.
In the South East, where many have moved to after leaving London, the popularity of detached homes has jumped from 24pc to 35pc.
However, semi-detached homes were most popular in the North, and in London flats dominated sales.
The average price paid by people moving home is £428,647, up 10pc on last year.
In the South East, the price paid jumped the most, with the average mover spending £591,247 – an increase of 12pc on the previous year.
By contrast, movers in the North East only spent 1pc more, paying an average of £255,223.
