Written By Em

Market analysis by peer-to-peer real estate investment platform easyMoney reveals that detached homes have delivered the best investment returns of all residential property types in the past decade, with value growth outperforming flats by more than 20%. 

To understand what type of residential property makes for the best investment, easyMoney has analysed the annual value change of all types of home – detached, semi-detached, terraced, and flats – over the past decade to see which has increased the most and therefore delivered the best returns for investors.

Over the past ten years, the average price of detached homes in the UK has increased by 74% (£195,247) to stand at a current price of £459,013. This is the largest value increase of all property types.

Semi-detached homes now cost an average of £280,425 after ten-year price growth of 71.4% (£116,817), while terraced homes now cost £235,529 after increasing in value by 67.6% (£95,024) since 2013.

Meanwhile, UK flats have experienced price growth of 51% (£77,127) in the past decade, and now cost an average of £228,441.

Jason Ferrando, CEO of easyMoney, comments: “This research demonstrates just how secure property investment is in this country. Despite all of the economic and global turmoil we have endured in the past decade, negative annual price change has only been recorded twice and in both instances it was flats that lost value, and neither time did the loss surpass -0.7%. 

“Flats are, in general, an outlier. While all other property types enjoyed massive price boosts during the pandemic, flats recorded only their third-highest growth of the decade. 

“This is because the pandemic and lockdowns instigated a race for space that flats simply cannot satisfy, and also because of the external cladding issues highlighted by the Grenfell tragedy and which continues to haunt high rise buildings to this day. 

“Despite this, however, flats have still delivered positive ten-year investment returns proving that even in the worst circumstances, residential property is one of, if not the most reliable investment asset money can buy.”

The latest data release by estate agent comparison site GetAgent.co.uk has revealed that over the last 12 months, the average home seller across England and Wales has achieved 99.7% of asking price, a 1.2% increase versus the previous 12 months.

However, in some areas of the market, sellers are achieving as much as 110% of their original asking price. 

GetAgent monitors the percentage of asking price achieved for sales across each postcode of England and Wales, based on the original price a property was first listed for sale at, versus the price they achieved upon completion. 

The latest research shows that over the last 12 months, home sellers across England and Wales have achieved 99.7% of their original asking price, up 1.2% from the 98.5% achieved over the previous 12 months. 

Strongest postcodes for asking price achieved 

In terms of the strongest postcodes for current home sellers, the CA9 postcode of Eden sits top of the table, where over the last year, home sellers have achieved 110% of their original asking price on average. 

Across Sheffield’s S7, S6 and S11 postcodes, sellers have achieved 107.4% and 107.2% of asking price respectively, with Northumberland’s NE68 postcode also making the top 5, with 106.6% of asking price achieved on average. 

Largest increase in asking price achieved 

Eden’s CA9 postcode has also seen the largest increase in the percentage of asking price achieved over the last 12 months when compared to the previous 12 months, with a 13.9% increase.

Other postcodes where home sellers are now achieving the highest increases in asking price include Westminster’s W1D (+11.4%), Camden’s WC1R (+9.7%), EC4Y in the City of London (+8.3%) and LD4 in Llandrindod Wells (+8.2%).

Biggest reduction in asking price achieved 

However, it’s not all good news for the nation’s home sellers, with some postcodes seeing a reduction in the percentage of asking price achieved and nowhere more so than Westminster’s SW1H postcode, where sellers have achieved 82.3% of asking price in the last year versus 93.4% over the previous 12 months – a drop of -11.1%. 

Sellers in Liverpool’s L2 postcode have seen a 9.1% reduction in the percentage of asking price achieved, with those in the LL37 postcode of Gwynedd also seeing one of the largest reductions at -8.6%. 

Co-founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, Colby Short, comments: “It’s been a tricky period of adjustment for home sellers in recent months, as the heat of the pandemic market boom has faded and increasing interest rates have stifled the appetites of the nation’s homebuyers. 

“But while we may have seen a reduction in the topline price achieved, it would seem as though, for the most part, those looking to sell are pricing appropriately for current market conditions and being rewarded with a higher percentage of asking price achieved.

“Of course, the fragmented nature of the property market means that asking price performance does differ drastically from one postcode to the next and while some areas have seen an increase, sellers in other postcodes are achieving a far lower proportion of their original asking price versus a year ago. 

“You’d need only look at Westminster for a prime example of this property market diversity, with one of the borough’s postcodes ranking in the top 10 largest increases in asking price achieved, while another tops the table for the largest decline.”