Just wondering if anybody has any thoughts on how much more expensive a detached house should be compared to a semi.
I am looking to possibly buy a detached house, but there are no other detached houses in the same area that have sold recently enough for the price to be on the Land Registry records.
There are a handful of semis that have sold only a few house along, and they are the same style house (well as close as a semi and a detached can be) with similar gardens. The semis are 3 beds and the detached is 4.
Because of the lack of information I am concerned about paying far too much and then finding it had to get my money back if I need to resell.
It is my understanding that the owners will take an offer which would put it about 35-40% more than the highest price paid for a semi.
I know that none of this is an exact science, and depends upon specifics of the houses, but I think that they are as close as they can be (obviously the detached is a bit bigger than the semi, has the extra bedroom and a fair sized office).
Still, I need to try to get a feel for what is reasonable, so wondered if you guys had any thoughts on the range of premium paid for a detached.
It is not flying off the shelf, having being on for a few months now, so it definitely isn't an incredible bargain.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
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Depeneds on the area and the exact size of the house. It also depends how rare detached houses are. Where I live detached houses are £500+ with some of them fetching £800k+ the average semi is probably about £220-£300k.
Where I live detached houses are rare and the ones that exist are very large, where as most the semis are just bog standard.
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There's more to it than just the price. With a semi you're likely to hear all sorts of noises from the neighbour. When we lived in a semi we heard "bedroom noises", TV and radio, and could even hear a plug being put into (and removed from) a socket on the party wall. Also there are ramifications arising from the fact that parts of the two properties are physically joined ~ walls, roofs, gutters, fascias, soffits etc. A friend had to contend with the neighbour removing a chimney breast on the party wall. Apart from the noise, cracks subsequently appeared in the friends house. If you can afford a detached then you'll have none of these problems.
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This very much depends on the local area and how much money is involved.
I would think that in most areas the change from 3 to 4 bed would have a much larger affect than semi to detached.
I wouldn't want to live in a house worth 35% more than my neighbours. If you want to maximise your profit you should look towards the worst house in the best area not the other way round.
I live in a 30s terraced house. I would only expect to pay less than 5% more for a semi and (if they existed here) maybe 15% for a detached. And for that I'd also expect a larger plot.
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I admit to being something of a house price research geek. You won't find me at the end of a station platform noting engine numbers but I just can't help myself poring over house prices - past & present. In my neck of the woods where semis outnumber detached by about 15 to 1 you will find a detached going for a premium of say 30% if similar sized and 45% to 50+% more if 4 rather than 3 beds. The 3 bed semis with a loft conversion making an awkward 4 beds go for + 15% to 20% maybe. Whichever way the detached has the edge.
I have given a passing thought to buying a pair of semis and making a grand detached one - but it probably won't sell for enough though.
This is of course only one street where local factors may have weight.
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Does anyone know why Zoopla doesn't show the price of two houses sold in December whereas it does show the price of one in the same road sold in March? Can't find them anywhere else either.
JH
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you are trying to compare apples and pears. The major factor here is the 4th bedroom.
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Watch out for houses joined at the garage. They are not strictly allowed now to be called detached, but people try to pass them off as such. There is an estate agent's word for them - "semi-attached" ?
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>>There is an estate agent's word for them - "semi-attached"
Many call them 'linked detached' as well, which I believe is an 'oxymoron'!
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>> Watch out for houses joined at the garage (..) "semi-attached" ?
"Link detached".
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>>There is an estate agent's word for them - "semi-attached" ?
Or 'link-detached' where I come from.
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>> >>There is an estate agent's word for them - "semi-attached" ?
>>
>> Or 'link-detached' where I come from.
Yes linked detached. a collecion of link detached is called Estate.
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>>a collecion of link detached is called Estate.
A collection of link detached (not far from me) is called Development.
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>> >>a collecion of link detached is called Estate.
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>> A collection of link detached (not far from me) is called Development.
Ooo No. Down here "development" is gated, terraced, small and mock georgian, tho they are gradually changing that to "Executive community"
Last edited by: Zero on Wed 12 May 10 at 09:09
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>>they are gradually changing that to "Executive community"
I'll take your word for it, Z!
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Looks like the approx 35% uplift for a detached as mentioned in the thread is about right.
There's a nicely maturing newish estate in our village where the 3-bed semis are making £150k and the detached 4-bed £200k. They make a good comparison as the detached houses are of the same style/quality as the semis. They do have larger rooms with far better living space, they are much more imposing properties and the gardens are about 50% bigger.
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>>I wouldn't want to live in a house worth 35% more than my neighbours.
>>If you want to maximise your profit you should look towards the worst house in the best area not the other way round.
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I would agree. That percentage seems high.
Of course the old statement, location, location, locations is so important.
Our road has both semis and detached. My semi ticks all the boxes re position and really does attract potential buyers and a premium price.
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As otherwise mentioned in this thread, you need to take into account the different number of (bed)rooms as well as the semi/detached aspect.
If you don't like the price, make an offer, and see what the seller will come down to. The agent will've put a price on it at which he thinks it'll sell. It's not in his interest to over-or under-value it.
Comparing selling prices of "similar" properties is always very difficult. They're unlikely to be the same in contition, attractiveness, or date of sale, which can all lead to wide variations in price.
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>> The agent will've put a price on it at which he thinks
>> it'll sell. It's not in his interest to over-or under-value it.
In my limited experience the list price is a starting point and the selling price is somewhat lower; isn't that what usually happens?
Last edited by: Focus on Tue 11 May 10 at 16:08
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If you register with the following site - it's free - you can get details of property prices in any area by inputting a post code. The prices are taken from the Land Registry and are actual prices paid, not estate agents' lists.
www.ourproperty.co.uk/
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The last time we looked at moving we soon came to the conclusion you pay much more for a 4-bed detached over a 3-bed semi.
We also found the 4-beds pokey and I started measuring floor areas. Most were smaller than our 3-bed.
We simply couldn't afford a larger 4-bed than our 3-bed semi and we weren't going to pay extra for a smaller property.
That was before we even considered garden sizes!
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If I was looking at buying a house as an investment I would concentrate my search in the best areas, even if this meant settling for a terrace/town house instead of a semi, or, indeed, a semi instead of a detached. Also, I would buy a semi in a road where the other properties are semi or detached, or a detached in a road of similar properties.
If I wasn't bothered about the investment angle I would try to buy a detached, even if I could only afford one in a less desirable area.
Excuse the drift.
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>> We also found the 4-beds pokey and I started measuring floor areas. Most were smaller
>> than our 3-bed.
It's the modern tendency, newer houses are far smaller (unless you buy a very expensive one). Three years ago I rang an estate agent with a query - a "room" 6'2" x 4'8" was being described as a bedroom. A standard bed wouldn't fit in it!
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4 bed will fetch more than a 3 bed of whatever flavour. Some berk nearby has put on a 5 bed semi at nearly double the price of a recent to market 3 bed detached. People pay premiums for detached houses and extra bedrooms but not that much...
The size of bedrooms does matter though so a 4 bed with 1 good bedroom and 3 rubbish ones may not fetch much more than a 3 bed with 3 good sized living rooms. Also with a 4 bed detached you want more rooms downstairs as a 4 bed house with just one living room and a kitchen downstairs is going to feel pokey and unbalanced.
30%-40% more for a detached over a semi seems about right to me. Sometimes good 4 bed detached houses can be double the 3 bed semi price if the local area needs bigger houses.
If the bedrooms are all decent sizes and you have the extra room downstairs then it seems worth it. Also check out how it could be extended as conservatories or other extensions are a good way of increasing value and floor space.
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Certainly location makes more difference than what the house is attached to. We saved a fortune by moving 15 miles from Northampton to a small market town, still near major routes but no train station. Identical houses to ours Northampton were £160-170k, ours was £130k.
It is also worth living near a railway funny enough as it puts people off but it really shouldnt unless you live near a major station - the track is maybe 100ft from the front of our house but you get maybe two trains an hour during the day which is all of 10-20 seconds of noise. Much better than a busy road.
Semis with same floor area as ours seem to be about £10k cheaper than ours but its so hard to say as every street can be different. Even the look of a house can have a huge bearing on it. Two identical houses in our street - one nicely done, very smart, up at £155k, another, slightly less tidy, £135k. Either way, thats more than we paid for ours so hopefully we bought at bottom of the market ( these houses were £180k two years ago - bargin ).
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>>ours was £130k.
>>Semis with same floor area as ours seem to be about £10k cheaper than ours
Certainly worthwhile paying the extra £10k, although I'm surprised it wasn't more.
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Think the difference between semi and detached is difficult to measure. In this area the detached houses are larger so there is no direct comparison plus they tend to come with double garages, a study etc.
Try calculating the square ft of the two properties to give an idea of how much you are paying per square foot. When we bought our new build 5 years ago our neighbour told us that she thought we had paid to much for our larger house and that it wasnt worth the extra over hers. When I worked out the cost per foot she had actualy paid more than us and had half the garden and a garage less
If its going to be a "home" then for me there is a lot of benefits in having detached that have a "value" in their own right - having had semi's and detached's then I wouldnt go back unless circumstances dictated.
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I'm a bit out of this, we have only ever bought one house, our current 4 bed semi.
It was £3750 and we pushed it a bit 'cos we were looking at £2800.
Could put it on your debit card now !
Ted
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>>
>> I'm a bit out of this, we have only ever bought one house, our current
>> 4 bed semi.
>> It was £3750 and we pushed it a bit 'cos we were looking at £2800.
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>> Could put it on your debit card now !
>>
>> Ted
>>
My in-laws keep reminding me how much of a struggle their first mortgage was - think they said it was £18 a month.
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If you could get one. 50 odd years ago when my parents got their first mortgage, you had to sell your first born as a serf to the local lord of the manner as security.
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I have been studying house/price figures in the UK as we are hoping to move back when/if we can sell our apartment in Spain.
What has struck me is how much better value in terms of square meterage/footage, are older houses.
Our apartment is 82 sq m, with a decent terrace of 22 sq. m, overlooking the pool, yet there are three bed new ,or very recent build, 3 bed houses in the UK with less space than we have.
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Worth remembering that very modern houses do often come with a host of toilet facilities that older ones dont - when we were looking at houses, most of the newest houses had atleast a cloakroom aswell as main bathroom. We even viewed a 2-bed house with a cloakroom, main bathroom and ensuite to master - I have to say that 3 toilets for a 2-bed house is a little excessive as it did loose alot of floorspace from the main rooms to fit them in. Useful though.
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I really wanted an older character property, but reality was that a new build gave us exactly what we wanted, ticked most box's, and gave us more square feet per £. Its also cheap to run and has 3 toilets (although not to keen to cleaning them all)
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>> Worth remembering that very modern houses do often come with a host of toilet
>> facilities that older ones dont
Our 1930s style (not sure when really built due to war and confusion in a 1945 covenant... no longer applicable) house we are about to buy thankfully has an additional toilet. You realise you need such when you don't have one.
Our last house (4 bedroom) actually had 4 working toilets including one on-suite! One was in the cellar mind.
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In the UK, house sizes have been decreasing over the last 20 years whereas overseas they have been increasing. Crazy when you consider our climate - it should be the other way around.
In deciding between a semi or detached one thing to watch out for is that you don't buy the best house in the street. It will always be the cheapest to buy but therefore the hardest and less valuable when you come to sell. Always buy the worst house in the street. It will be dragged up in value by its neighbours and you will sell it more easily.
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>> In the UK, house sizes have been decreasing over the last 20 years whereas overseas
>> they have been increasing. Crazy when you consider our climate - it should be the
>> other way around.
Alas, we have more people, with more housing needs, but not more land. Something has to give, and its the size of houses that is giving.,
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>> In the UK, house sizes have been decreasing over the last 20 years
Can anyone explain why furniture is getting bigger?
Just look at the DFDS adverts on TV, we'd need to build over the garden out front to get half of that in our house!
Pat
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>> In the UK, house sizes have been decreasing over the last 20 years whereas overseas
Longer than that. I remember looking at some really tiny detached new-build houses in the late 70's. The bedroom sizes - well, you couldn't swing a cat.
Do house builders still put cottage suites and 2" beds into their show homes?
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>>Do house builders still put cottage suites and 2" beds into their show homes?
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A while back I went to look at some flats being created in an old building at Hammersmith.
All very nice but no room for wardrobes or storage. Car Parking? Oh parking spots are £15K each. I suggested their fancy sale brochure was lacking a key bit of information.
" No Google coordinates" and left it at that!.
Storage sites like Big Yell are spreading like a rash in my neck of the woods, I guess it it not just lifestyle bits but smaller properties.
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>> I remember looking at some really tiny detached new-build houses in the
>> late 70's. The bedroom sizes - well, you couldn't swing a cat.
I have a feeling that under sizing in the sixites/seventies lead to the imposition of standards. These were then removed in the feeding frenzy of de-regualtion in the eighties.
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DFS - Diabolical Flipping Sofas we call 'em.
You'd have to be both colour blind and lacking in any sense of style or taste to buy most of those shown on their TV ads.
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Find out the floor area (most agents produce decent measured floorplans these days) and work out the cost per square foot. You may be surprised at the size (or otherwise) of the price difference.
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>> DFS
Our last sofas were good value and well made (in south Wales). When we move we want new ones due to wanting two 2 seaters and wanting to change colour too.
DFS and the like charge a lot due to the option for zero % finance. M&S and the like habe nice furuniture at a cost. But do look at SofaSofa. We got furniture before (And will again soon) from them - was Thomas Lloyd back then. Saved a lot and the furniture we got last time is still looking good.
I have no connection to Sofa Sofa/Thomas Lloyd and associated companies. IF you live near south Wales it's worth a visit to the showrooms? Last time we had the opportunity to see their stock in a Manchester hotel and we have been very pleased.
Do not expect finance of course. And the current sale may end tomorrow. Reminds me to phone to order and visit later!
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we got ours from Sofa Sofa. Drove down to wales and back to check them out.
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I am from South Wales and an overdue visit to family. So will go down soon (new house and all needing new sofas!).
We'd have dismissed them in 2000 (Thomas Lloyd being the company coming to Manchester Hotel) because of very good value and expecting a catch.... no catch. Just good value. Our current sofas in storage are still good. But we want new and actually need two, two seat sofas and have a 3 and 2 seater at the moment.
Glad I am not the only one singing their praises*.
* My aunt worked for a sofa maker in south wales and there were lots (fewer now). I would put money on M&S and the like using them and if not then the M&S ones are not UK made??/
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I don't understand why so many lounge suites and beds now don't have casters. I wouldn't buy it if it didn't have casters. Even if it had casters, I would ask for cheap casters to be replaced with Shepherd casters.
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Detached vs Semi - RattleandSmoke
