How much more are you will to pay for detached vs semi

[Adjeoebfwh]

Plan to view a house this weekend. The house is detached. A semi in same cul-de-sac with similar size and floor plan was sold for 700k in 2019. This house is up for 850k. SW London. Both houses seem to be decorated to a high standard, beautifully done.

I have never had experiences with detached house so wonder if the price difference is reasonable? Is there sorta of a rule of thumb thing?

I would look at sold prices for both detached and semis in the road or very nearby and make a judgement on price differentials. I would say the difference is probably justified. You would certainly see that difference where I live. Detached is just more desirable.

I would sell my soul to live in a detached house.

Joking apart, definitely compare across other properties in the area and then buy the detached!

I’ve just looked in my local small town for similar properties that are detached and semis.

Take into account if the semi has been extended or not. If the detached is original then you have more opportunity to change it. The larger semis here are extended to get to the size of the detached. However on the newer estates in the larger town, house builders build modern detached and semis that are around the same size. If these houses are on an estate, comparison will be easy.

The price differential in my small desirable town is more like £250,000 for similar size in similar location and similar age of property. That’s all important comparison data.

Agree with pp, same where I live. I think some of it is also the plots are generally bigger too. Is that the case here?

Thanks all for replies! The houses seem to be built as an estate so similar style and detached houses are quite close to each other but do not share walls (maybe actually link detached sharing garage walls but that is unclear from the photo).

Good point about extension and plot size. Cannot really tell from listings so will need to check out at actual viewings. Garden sizes seem similar for the two from Google satellite images.

I would be a bit put off a link detached, if you decide to covert the garage and the neighbours do the same then you may as well be in a semi.

Also, one of my neighbours is in a 1980’s Link detached house, when their neighbour is doing work in his garage like sanding, playing his instruments etc they can hear it like it’s in their own house.
The sound obviously travels too well.

Detached is traditionally what people work towards. Having a semi-detached is good too though. Heck - having a home at all is great!

I just think detached is desirable because it feels more like its "yours" and yours alone. No sharing required. And therefore less need to have any awkward conversations with neighbours about maintenance or any issues. IMO detached, if you can afford it of course, helps with keeping the peace between neighbours - there's clear boundaries.

Of course, I know of people who would disagree. One of my friends lives in a row of terrace houses in a lovely street and there's arguably greater unity between the neighbours that creates a sense of community.

But I just think the neighbours you get can be pot luck though and I'm not sure I'm willing to take that risk! People can be quite territorial when it comes to their home - and that's understandable.

I’d be looking for a nice house in a nice area. We have a detached house and there is definitely something great about the fact that noise doesn’t travel, but we are quite far from our neighbours as they are period houses on large plots. Before this house we lived in a very desirable terrace and that was great because we had great neighbours and a very tight knit community. I have a husband who travels (or did before pandemic), and I had loads more support in the old house (help with school drop off etc). I still have that kind of help here (from the same people because we are just around the corner), but I have to ask for it. And I feel much more isolated when alone in the house overnight. So ultimately, there are positives to each situation. On balance I prefer the he detached house, which is why they tend to be worth more.

I'm single with no kids, really excited to be buying my first home - a lovely 3 bed semi. For some reason I've always wanted detached- I just want my own space and all my own walls! It's my longterm goal but I'd be happy with a 3 bed detached, no need for 4.

I don't want to hear anyone and I don't want anyone to be able to hear me when I'm home. Plus I'm anti-social and detached gives you that extra distance from neighbours.

One thing I would add at your viewing. If detached means you’re less worried about the noise, have a look at garden arrangements. I’m in a semi and my neighbours have a seating area which is right near our bedroom window. It can cause us problems in the summer as they like to sit out until late and we want our window open. Obviously a detached should mean you’re further away, but worth having a look at the general arrangement if you’re paying extra on the basis you’ll get minimal disturbance.
Just a thought.

Agree with yellow over link detatched, noise from the garage can travel through house walls. Where we lived you could not convert the link garage at all. It was in the deeds banning it completely.

Plus the garages lined up with the back of the houses to give a long drive for two cars, except that even with a small car, parking just in front of the garage meant door opening on both sides was tight. So you might want to check that.

But it meant the garages were next to the lounge of the other house so potentially an issue. Plus access to the back garden was through the garage and then out the pedestrian door meaning you always had to have a path through the garage. Just things to think about.

Price wise, check for sold prices on Rightmove.

It really depends. No way would a detached command a premium of £150k for a semi detached if the houses were the same size on a similar sized plot.

However, if its more secluded, how more potential to re-model or extend, stands well apart from other houses, those things can add value. A relative's detached house is so close to its neighbours that you can't access the back of the house on either side, so its not massively different to being terraced. Obviously internal noise doesnt travel as much but thats the only difference and wouldn't command much of a premium at all.

There is a detached property for sale opposite it my house its up for approx £100k more than mine is worth but it has a tiny garden as its on the corner and roughly same size rooms. Personally I wouldn't pay a penny more for it but would for a house that was a proper detached - decent land space all the way round, bigger rooms etc.

It depends on the area though. There’s a big difference between semis and detached in some areas. Around 20% seems about right.

For a link detached, it’s not so clear because it’s joined on to another house! I would avoid personally for all the reasons above. They don’t have much room to extend and are semis by another name!

The pictures usually give away if a house has been extended OP. Compare with sold properties on the estate.

I live in a detached, it’s the only one on the road.
I’ve lived in a semi previously, what I like is
Any noise it’s just from your house.
No neighbour noise through wall, shouting, kids crying, etc

We obviously can hear neighbours when in garden as were only divided by bushes. That can be a pain, as I’m an introvert, no kids and 60’s

Do like the fact that don’t have to worry about making noise, tv, music etc annoying adjoining neighbour and vise visa

In my area NW detached are not 150k more than semi ?

I’d say ( not sure) mines worth about 290/300k. Semi are about 240/260k ish
Depending on size and state

That’s still around the 20% differential I noted though. It’s about the same in the OP’s area by the look of it.

In our SE London location about 18% of housing stock is detached, 78% semi, remainder maisonettes or flats above shops. In our street a 3 bed semi is £550ish, one with a loft conversion is £620k, a detached with same footprint as original semi but unconverted may be £680ish or on a larger plot and four bed is £850k, many have been extended or had loft conversions so can’t quite compare. Complicating matters the semis sometimes have shared driveways so those with such a set up attract slightly less, say £525k. It is generally hard to compare. Some semis have extra large rooms, large gardens and cost far more than the budget detached. All mostly built within a few years of each other in the 1930s.

Massive differential around here, maybe 300k for 4bed semi and 400-450 for 4 bed detached.

Neither at those crazy prices! Detached house I like is about £50k more here

Well we all know house prices differ according to where you live. I expect I could buy ten detached houses in a crazy cheap part of the country! All prices depend on where you live! What’s the point of commenting on price? It’s differential we were talking about.

Thank you all - very helpful context and tips!

We went to see the detached and realised that even though they don’t share actual walls with neighbours the houses are incredibly close - like 1m apart on both sides. This obviously limits any potential to extend to the side.

This setting seem quite common in SW London for houses built in 50s-70s.

We decided against it - not sure it actually feels like a detached house when we live in it.

It’s a narrow plot then which is a shame. Not it will feel squashed!

yes i had a link detached (garages attached) and the neighbours had 2 large commmercial freezers in the garage - humming all night and sound and compressor noise straight thriugh the walls.

House prices have increased anyway since 2019, so I don't think that sounds bad at all. Detached do sell much quicker if priced right in my experience.