UK house‑flat price gap hits 30‑year high, Zoopla finds

Zoopla’s latest analysis shows the price gap between houses and flats in the United Kingdom is at its widest in three decades. Since 2016, average house prices have risen 43% to £327,000, while flat prices have increased only 10% to £193,000, making a house on average 1.7 times the price of a flat. Outside London the disparity widens to 2.3 times, and in the West Midlands a house costs 2.5 times a flat – the highest regional ratio.

The gap is driven by faster house‑price growth, higher leasehold costs on flats, and regional affordability differences, especially in the Midlands and northern England where many first‑time buyers now skip flats and directly purchase houses. Scotland’s ratio remains relatively stable at 1.9 times. Zoopla links the widening gap to leasehold complexities, noting that four‑fifths of flats listed in England are leasehold, with average annual ground‑rent and service‑charge costs of around £2,100.

The findings arrive as the UK government prepares major leasehold reforms, including a ban on new ground rents and a draft bill to cap existing rents at £250 per year and push commonhold ownership for new apartments. Zoopla’s executive director Richard Donnell says the record gap “creates opportunities for buyers who do their homework.”