Small houses are selling more quickly than flats or larger houses as the changing housing market puts value for money at the top of buyers’ lists.
Two bedroom terraced homes are now selling the fastest in 8 of 11 UK regions, at an average of 28 days.
It's one of only three property types selling faster than the UK average of 34 days, along with three bedroom terraces and three bedroom semi detached houses.
Large detached houses are seeing the slowest sales as well as the biggest slowdown since last year.
The property types selling the fastest in November 2023
| Property type | Time to sell in 2023 (days) | Time to sell in 2022 (days) | Annual change in time to sell (days) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 bed terraced | 28 | 17 | +11 |
| 3 bed terraced | 31 | 17 | +13 |
| 3 bed semi | 32 | 17 | +15 |
| 3+ bed flat | 35 | 25 | +10 |
| 2 bed flat | 36 | 26 | +10 |
| 1 bed flat | 37 | 29 | +9 |
| 4+ bed semi | 39 | 21 | +18 |
| 4+ bed terraced | 41 | 23 | +18 |
| 3 bed detached | 43 | 23 | +21 |
| 4+ bed detached | 47 | 26 | +22 |
Only two bedroom terraced houses sell within a month
Two bedroom terraced houses have traditionally been one of the fastest selling property types. It stayed this way throughout the pandemic as well.
And while their average time to sell has slowed this year, they're still the fastest selling property type - and the only one to sell in less than a month.
Two bedroom terraces are the fastest selling property type in 8 of 11 UK regions. The only exceptions are the North West, where one bedroom flats are quickest, and Scotland and Wales, where three bedroom houses are snapped up the fastest.
Two bedroom houses remain in hot demand because high mortgage rates are encouraging buyers to be more value-conscious. They’re also relatively rare, making up only 1 in 12 homes on the market in recent months. Strong demand and limited supply mean this type of property is selling fast across the UK.
Search two bedroom terraces for sale
The slowdown in time to sell can also be seen across regions and cities, rather than just property types. Lower value locations remain busy and are seeing faster sales than more expensive areas.
The 25 locations where homes sell the fastest
Flats see smallest increase in time to sell
The average time to sell has risen across the board since last year, but flats have seen the smallest increase so far.
One bedroom flats sell within 37 days on average, an increase of 9 days on last year, while two or more bedroom flats are taking 10 more days to sell than last year.
To put this into context, three bedroom detached houses are taking 21 more days to sell than last year, while 4+ detached houses are taking 22 more days.
This suggests that demand has remained more steady for flats over the last year, likely due to their affordability.
Flats are also more concentrated around cities, which are traditionally faster moving housing markets.
On the other hand, three bed semi-detached houses are taking a full two weeks longer to sell. This is despite these being the most popular property type in the UK, and shows the drop in interest in larger and more expensive houses.
Large detached houses are the slowest to sell
Detached houses with four bedrooms or more are the slowest selling property type in the UK.
It takes 47 days on average to secure an offer on this property type, or just under seven weeks.
It’s in stark contrast to trends during the pandemic, when large detached homes were popular with space-seeking buyers and demand for flats was lower.
This increase in time to sell for bigger homes has been driven by the cost-of-living crisis and higher borrowing costs. These affordability factors have reduced the number of people looking to move house, with buyer demand now a fifth lower than this time last year.
Reduced affordability particularly limits the number of potential buyers interested in larger and more expensive property types, which translates into a longer time on the market for these properties.
Search detached houses for sale
The table shows that detached houses with four or more bedrooms are selling the slowest in 8 out of 11 regions in Britain.
The only exceptions are:
the North East, where one bedroom flats sell the slowest - affordable house prices mean buyers seek more space than this
Yorkshire and the Humber and the South East, where large 3+ bedroom flats sell the slowest - people in this price bracket and these areas would typically rather buy a small house than a large flat.
| Region | Average time to sell | Fastest selling property type | Time to sell (days) | Slowest selling property type | Time to sell (days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | 39 | 2 bed terraced | 32 | 4+ bed detached | 59 |
| East of England | 38 | 2 bed terraced | 32 | 4+ bed detached | 51 |
| London | 40 | 2 bed terraced | 29 | 4+ bed detached | 49 |
| North East | 30 | 2 bed terraced | 28 | 1 bed flat | 51 |
| North West | 30 | 1 bed flat | 21 | 4+ bed detached | 53 |
| Scotland | 17 | 3 bed terraced | 15 | 4+ bed detached | 25 |
| South East | 39 | 2 bed terraced | 32 | 3+ bed flat | 55 |
| South West | 36 | 2 bed terraced | 26 | 4+ bed detached | 47 |
| Wales | 34 | 3 bed semi | 30 | 4+ bed detached | 52 |
| West Midlands | 33 | 2 bed terraced | 27 | 4+ bed detached | 48 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 32 | 2 bed terraced | 25 | 3+ bed flat | 54 |
