However, as your family expands and financial situation changes, the time may come to move up the property ladder. So how much does it cost to take the next step?
comparethemarket.com has analysed housing market data to reveal the locations where the difference in price between property types is at its least – so once you get your foot on the ladder, it’s easier to upgrade from a flat through to a terraced house, a semi-detached property, and all the way up to a detached home.
Climbing the ladder
Saving for a deposit can often be the hardest part of buying a property, but once you’ve bought one, it can be sensible to look towards buying the next.
Across the country, the location with the least steep jump in price is Tower Hamlets in London. A flat will cost £437,007, significantly more than the national average of £165,783 – but the average price difference on each of the steps up towards a detached home is only 19%, compared with a national average of 39%.
The top towns and cities for going from a flat to a detached include:
Manchester – While parts of London and the Shetland Islands have smaller steps, the city with the overall shortest housing ladder is Manchester. Here, a flat costs £154,424 on average, rising to £157,736 for a terraced home, £207,315 for a semi-detached, and £303,042 for a detached.
Nottingham – Starting at an affordable £109,704 for a Nottingham flat, prices don’t rise too much at £150,084 for a semi-detached home. The overall average price difference between property types is 30%.
London – First-time buyers might be put off purchasing in London by the high initial prices (the average price of a flat is £420,037) but if you’re able to get on the ladder, the proportional increases are only an average of 30%. A detached house costs £901,123.
Bristol – For those looking to get out of London, Bristol can be a good option –the average terraced house price is about two thirds of the average starting price of a flat in London: only £277,194, with a low increase of 18% to buy a semi-detached.
Stoke-on-Trent – With a terraced house price under £90,000 (only £87,814), Stoke is one of the easier places to get a foot on the ladder; and with a step of 27% to a semi-detached property of £111,702, it’s an accessible place for climbing the housing ladder.
At the other end of the housing ladder is the London Borough of Haringey, where it’s the steepest increase in price between property types. Starting at £475,967 for a flat, the prices spike up by 29% to £615,902 for a terraced house – and the jump from a semi-detached home to a detached property is 93%.
For more of the locations with the longest and shortest housing ladders, see the rest of the results on comparethemarket.com The figures shown refer to the average price jumps between different sized properties and are not inclusive of figures relating to stamp duty or removal costs.
