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The gap between the asking price for typical first-time properties and larger homes across Great Britain rose to the highest on record as homeowners find it harder to move up the property ladder.
The average asking price for a home with two bedrooms or smaller was £226,955 in March, according to the property portal Rightmove, while a property with three or four bedrooms — described as a typical “second-stepper home” — was £345,857, a 52 per cent gap that was the largest since its records began in 2001.
The figures are consistent with FT analysis of official data showing that the price gap between flats and terraced houses has also reached a record high, based on data going back to 2005.
Buyers in the South East and London face the greatest challenge in trading up for more space, with gaps of 61 per cent and 60 per cent, respectively, between the cost of a typical first home and a larger property, according to the Rightmove data.
By contrast, trading up from a starter home is most achievable in Yorkshire and the Humber, with a gap between prices of a first-time buyer home and a second stepper at 38 per cent. Wales is the second most affordable area to trade up in Great Britain, with a 40 per cent gap.
Mary-Lou Press, president of Propertymark, the association of estate agents, said: “While many first-time buyers are getting on to the ladder, progressing beyond that first step is becoming increasingly difficult, particularly as house prices continue to outpace those of flats.”
“Building the additional equity required to trade up remains a major barrier for many households,” she added.
Rightmove’s Colleen Babcock said: “The race for space that began during the pandemic caused a major shift between houses and flats, and it’s a shift we’re still feeling today.”
She explained that flats, which make up a much larger share of first-time buyer homes in markets such as London, have seen slower price growth while houses have pulled further ahead.
“Concerns around leaseholds and ground rents are also likely weighing on flat prices,” she added.
Prices of UK flats have underperformed the wider property market since 2019, reflecting the shift to flexible working, concerns about cladding and high service charges.
In December 2025, the average UK price of a flat or maisonette was £192,826 compared with £229,449 for terraced properties, a 16 per cent difference that was the largest since records began in 2005, according to FT analysis of official data.
The gap between prices of UK flats and semi-detached properties widened to 30 per cent, also a record high. UK flats were also 56 per cent cheaper than detached properties in December, a near-record, official data shows.
Karen Noye, mortgage expert at Quilter, said the recent rise in mortgage rates — driven by the escalation in the Middle East pushing oil prices higher — would make the leap between smaller and larger properties “even tougher”.