Townhouse popularity on the up

Townhouses are experiencing the fastest growth in the new homes sector, new research shows.

Modern terraced houses, typically on three floors, made up ten per cent of new homes built over the last year, an increase of three per cent on the year before, show figures from SmartNewHomes.com.

New home buyers, in particular young families, have been attracted to townhouses as they offer similar levels of space to a new detached home, for much less.

The price tag for a townhouse is around £63,000 less than a new build detached home, which had an average price of £307,875 in September 2006.

David Bexon, SmartNewHomes.com managing director said: "Townhouses offer the perfect solution for growing families, with bonus rooms and additional floors families can be more creative with the space, often choosing to convert the third floor into an additional bedroom, an office space or a playroom and have more en suites.

Mr Bexon added that though detached homes were still in demand, making up 24 per cent of the new homes mix, the high price of this kind of home was often out of the reach of young families.

"While many new home buyers are turning to semi-detached homes and townhouses as a more affordable option this continued fall in the number of detached homes needs to be addressed. Government must revise its planning policy now to ensure that this property type does not become a minority purchase.

"With prices having remained relatively stable over the past year, now is a good time to buy as their increasing popularity will undoubtedly lead to steeper prices in 2007," Mr Bexon advised.

The growing popularity of the townhouse is also in part down to developers, under pressure from the government to build high density housing, looking to build taller properties that occupy a smaller plot.
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