Three- and four-bedroom houses selling at record prices

Asking prices for larger homes have hit record highs as growing numbers of UK property buyers look to upsize.

According to Rightmove, the average asking price for “second-stepper homes” - three- or four-bed - has soared to £291,618. The strongest sector is “top of the ladder”, which includes four-bed detached homes and larger, with the number of sales agreed in August up by 104% year-on-year.

Rightmove’s property data expert Tim Bannister says that while “needing more space has always been the most popular reason for moving house”, the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in “a new urgency for extra space to be able to work from home, which means that there are different sets of buyers competing for the same type of property”.

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He continued: “At the start of the year, a fourth bedroom was very much a luxury for buyers trading up, but it’s now emerging as a must-have for those who are able to take that step.

“With overall asking prices just a few hundred pounds shy of July’s record, and buyer demand at an all-time high, those currently looking for their next home are likely to find that only offers close to the asking price will be considered, especially for larger homes.”

Rightmove says that overall prices have remained steady since hitting a record high in July. The real-estate website’s House Price Index reveals that the average UK property asking price is now £319,996 - up by 0.2% from August and by 5% year-on-year.