Associated with both gentrified areas of London and northern industry towns, the terrace house is a staple of British culture and infrastructure. Whether lining cobbled streets or surrounding large, leafy areas, you would be hard pressed not to spot a row of terraces on your daily commute or wander to the shops.
No surprise then that recent research, conducted by Proportunity, shows that, in the last decade, terrace houses had an average growth in sales of 3.05% across the country, outperforming all other property types.
Founder and CEO of Proportunity, which provides Help to Buy-style equity loans, said: “The 2010s were marked by the after-effects of the financial crisis, and then by Brexit uncertainty. Despite these headwinds, we have largely seen growth across the board but the clear winner is terraced housing, or more specifically, terraced homes in London, with buyers likely attracted to their historic characteristics and charm, as well as their limited supply.”
Analysing the changing price per square metre of all properties sold in England and Wales since 2010, Proportunity then calculated the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for each property type regionally – again across England and Wales.
Greater London came out on top in highest performing property types in all but one category, despite recent stagnation. Terrace houses, semi-detached houses and flats in the capital all outperformed other regions.
Across England and Wales, semi-detached house had an average growth and 2.9%, whilst flats had a growth of 2.35%. Detached houses were the slowest growing property, with annual growth rates since 2020 of just 2.33%.
Flats in the North East, Yorkshire & the Humber and the North West all lost value over the decade, with annual decreases of 0.5%, 0.12% and 0.04percentage respectively.
The research also revealed that builders and developers are producing far fewer flats than at the start of the decade. Flats accounted for a quarter of new homes build in 2001, rising to nearly a half in 2005. By 2010, however, this number had fallen to around a third.
Premier Guarantee offers a House Type Approval Scheme, available exclusively to Premier Guarantee registered builders and developers, which helps to ensure a consistent interpretation of Building Regulations.