It can sometimes feel like our country is bursting at the seams! And yet Labour is charging on with its plans to build 1.5 million extra properties in five years. As the country builds and builds, we wanted to find out if property sizes are being compromised as a result of the rapidly growing population.
We took to comparing the square footage of properties built between 1995-2005 and those built in the last ten years to see how average home size has changed.
Many reports suggest that new homes in the UK are getting smaller, especially in urban areas where land is scarce and developers attempt to pack in as many units as possible. Smaller properties are also more affordable in a challenging and pricey economy. Is this perception backed by the data? Though it may go against the narrative of new builds shrinking, the data actually shows homes are getting larger.
Let’s break it down by property type to see how the trends compare.
Overall, houses have grown larger. Wales, West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber saw slight decreases, but these were arguably insignificant reductions, all under 2%. Inner London stands out with a significant increase of 37.67%. This may be due to Victorian or Georgian terraces being combined into larger units, alongside new developments focusing on luxury townhouses aimed at attracting affluent buyers.
Comparing the size of UK houses in square footage that were built between 1995-2005 against those built in the last ten years
Drilling down by property type, detached houses buck the overall trend, with most regions seeing a shrink in sizes, albeit by relatively small amounts. In the North West, detached houses are 5.17% smaller than ten years ago (1357 square feet versus 1287 square feet) followed by the South East at 3.87% smaller and the West Midlands at 3.35% smaller.
The bad news for homemovers is that in our latest Property and Homemover Report, detached houses were the most in-demand of all property types, up 12.8% from last year - yet these are the properties where square footage is shrinking in many regions.
Going against the grain, Inner London detached homes are 20.04% larger. The East of England, North East and Outer London also show increases in detached properties compared to those built between 1995 and 2005.
Comparing the size of UK detached houses in square footage that were built between 1995-2005 against those built in the last ten years
There’s better news for terraced homes. All regions except the North East are now enjoying larger terraced homes compared to 1995 to 2005. Inner London leads again, with terrace homes now 39.77% larger (1525 square feet versus 1091 square feet). Outer London follows closely behind at 31.16% larger. The biggest growth in square footage for terraced houses has been seen in the south and east.
Comparing the size of UK terraced houses in square footage that were built between 1995-2005 against those built in the last ten years
Semis are enjoying a growth in square footage in all regions. Inner London leads the way once again with homes 39.95% larger (1593 square feet versus 1139 square feet), followed by Outer London at 23.01% larger.
Comparing the size of UK semi-detached houses in square footage that were built between 1995-2005 against those built in the last ten years
When it comes to bungalows, Inner London again tops the chart. Inner London bungalows are 15.36% larger (904 square feet versus 784 square feet). The West Midlands was second at 12.55% followed by the East of England at 10.34%. At the other end of the spectrum, Welsh bungalows are 6.78% smaller.
Comparing the size of UK bungalows in square footage that were built between 1995-2005 against those built in the last ten years
It’s a bit more of a mixed bag when it comes to flats. Whilst the East of England’s flats are 6.58% larger, the North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, Wales and the West Midlands have seen flats shrinking in size. The North West saw the biggest drop by 6.7% as square footage fell from 689 square feet to 643 square feet.
Comparing the size of UK flats in square footage that were built between 1995-2005 against those built in the last ten years
In essence, newly built properties are larger than those built between 1995-2005. We have broken down the average square footage per property type in the table below:
The average square footage per property type
The average square footage by property type for properties built in the last ten years
When we look at average square feet regionally, Inner London’s average square footage comes out on top at 1178 square feet, followed by Outer London at 1006 square feet. The smallest properties can be found in Yorkshire and The Humber at an average of 869 square feet.
Average square footage by region
So, are UK homes getting smaller? In short, no. The average living space for UK residents is increasing. Property size has always been a big selling point that shapes asking price and buyer appeal. It’ll be interesting to see if this trend continues to develop over the coming years. What could be contributing to this trend? Is it an emphasis on remote work and home-based activities fuelling demand for extra space? Or could it be due to the lack of affordable homes for younger generations, which is adding to an increase in multigenerational living? Perhaps developers are taking into account the changing household patterns and building bigger spaces for families living with adult children or elderly parents. Is the UK even obsessed with square footage like our American counterparts or is it more important to have the right location?
Square footage data is just one of the 350+ attributes of UK properties that we track as part of our DOMUS dictionary. Companies use our DOMUS dictionary to power their marketing campaigns, for risk management and for financial modelling. If you’re interested in learning more about our DOMUS database, our property data analysis, our homeowner data or homemover data, please get in touch.