Terraced homes as the best investment?

The average price of a terraced house has risen faster than any other type of home over the last decade, a report reveals. Between 2001 and 2011, the average terrace has shot up by 68 per cent in value, overshadowing the performance of bungalows and flats.In 2001, the average terraced home cost £89,843. Today the same property would be worth £151,332, an increase of nearly £62,000. All other types of properties have rocketed in value over the same period, but none has kept pace with the rise of the terraced house.Flats and maisonettes are at the bottom of the property price rise league, up 49 per cent over the last decade. A flat which cost £109,936 in 2001 would cost £163,825 today, according to the Halifax, which is now part of the Lloyds Banking Group.The figures highlight the long-term property boom, with prices reaching record highs in many areas despite the recent recession and the economic crisis. For many families, who bought a terraced home many years ago before the boom, it has proved to be like winning the lottery.Their home has shot up in value to such an extent that many could not afford to buy the same property if they were starting out again.Halifax said the price of a terraced house has shot up so much because it is the most ‘affordable’ type of home in Britain. The average price of a terraced home is cheaper than the average price of any other type of property.A typical bungalow costs £187,167. A semi-detached home costs an average of £164,970. A detached home costs £273,173 and a flat or maisonette costs £163,825.Suren Thiru, housing economist at the Halifax, says: ‘Demand for terraced homes is likely to have been supported by their relatively favourable levels of affordability over the period.‘The rapid house price rises have priced many potential home movers out of the upper end of the UK housing market.’A separate report, from the property firm Hometrack, warns that only the rich can afford to buy in the countryside. This is because the average price of a home on the first rung of the property ladder in rural areas, at £187,715, is far higher than in urban areas, at £133,005.