Research reveals fewer two-up, two-down homes are being built

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Research reveals fewer two-up, two-down homes are being built

The two-up, two-down house, which used to be a staple of the British housing market, is no longer popular with the number being built halved in the last 20 years, new research shows.

Indeed, two bedroom houses now make up just 2% of new build houses for sale in some areas and 9% overall, according to a study by modular homes developer ProjectEtopia. It suggests this is making it harder for people to get on the housing ladder.

Its analysis of latest official figures shows that 9% of all new properties for sale completed in 2017/2018 were two-bedroom houses and this is down from 17% two decades ago.

Since the data was first collected, two bedroom houses peaked at 23% of all new build homes in 1992/1993 and 1993/1994 and they have not risen above 10% since 2012/2013.

Further analysis of new build houses currently on the market with online property portal Zoopla shows that two bedroom houses make up as little as 2% to 3% of the houses on the market in some areas.

In Durham, Cambridge, Stafford, Nottingham, Crawley and Birmingham, more than 97% of new build houses for sale have three or more bedrooms while in Blackburn, Bolton, Darlington, Gateshead and Gosport, there are no new build two bedroom houses for sale at all.

Other places suffering the two-up, two-down drought with no new build two bedroom houses on the market are Hastings, Rochdale, Slough, Stevenage, Wigan and Worcester.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s completion data shows houses made up 80% of new build properties in 2017/2018, with flats making up the rest.

‘The two-up, two-down was once thought of as the typical first house for aspiring home owners, giving people a step onto the ladder where they have space to start building a family,’ said Joseph Daniels, chief executive officer of ProjectEtopia.

‘But couples are inevitably finding it increasingly difficult to buy smaller two bedroom homes because developers have simply stopped building enough of them. Decades of inadequate home building has already left hundreds of thousands of people unable to afford to buy a place of their own. Developers need to remember they’re building for people, not just profit,’ he added.

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