Detached homes price up by £100,000

Sep 29 2012

The average price of detached houses in Scotland has increased by almost £100,000 over the last decade, with research showing they have risen in value by more than £800 a month.

Detached homes were worth an average of £238,111 in the second quarter of this year - 9% less than five years ago but 70% more than in 2002, when the average value was £140,288.

Research by the Bank of Scotland showed that over the last five years detached properties had seen the smallest drop in value.

The average price of property has fallen by 21% since the height of the market in 2007, but the average price of terraced properties has fallen by 27%, with flats down 23%.

Nitesh Patel, housing economist at the Bank of Scotland, explained that as flats and terraced homes are popular with first-time buyers, their values had suffered as a result of the difficulties this group can face getting a mortgage.

Mr Patel said: "The prices of those property types in Scotland that are less reliant on first-time buyers, such as detached homes, have been more resilient since the financial crisis in 2007.

"Nevertheless, prices of all property types in Scotland have fallen over the past five years with the biggest declines for flats and terraced homes. These types are particularly popular with first-time buyers and their sharper price falls probably reflect the difficulties that those looking to enter the market for the first time have been facing."

Between 2002 and 2007, when it was easier for first-time buyers to get on the property ladder, the average price of terraced homes and flats rose by 152% and 126% respectively. Semi-detached homes - which have had seen their average value fall by 16% over the last five years - and terraced homes now account for a larger share of property sales than in 2007.

These two types of properties make up 45% of all transactions, up from 35% in 2007, and terraced homes alone make up almost a quarter (24%) of sales, up from 16% five years ago. Flats now make less than a third (32%) of property deals, down from 36% in 2007, while the share for detached homes has also fallen, going from 20% to 14%.

The gap between the average price of a detached home and other types of property has grown in the last five years. The average price of a detached property is now 113% more than for a flat and 107% more than a terraced home, compared with 82% and 67% respectively five years ago.