Trading up to a detached got cheaper in the South East. Not the North.

Research by ValuQ: we matched 732,140 resales of detached and semi-detached homes across 1,798 postcode districts in England and Wales, using HM Land Registry Price Paid data, and measured how the cash cost of stepping up from a semi to a detached home changed between the year to July 2022 and the year to July 2026.

ValuQ Property Watch, 17 October 2026.

What did ValuQ find?

Across England and Wales the step from a semi-detached home to a detached one in the same postcode district costs about £146,300, almost exactly what it cost four years ago (£147,500). The national average hides a split. In London the step is £28,200 cheaper than in 2022, in the South East £15,100 cheaper and in the East of England £8,600 cheaper. In the North East it is £13,900 dearer, and it has risen in every English region outside London, the South East and the East of England.

The reason is simple. In London and the South East, detached prices have barely moved since 2022 (up 0.9% in London and the South East), while semis rose about 4%. In the North, detached homes kept rising (up 14.2% in the North East), so the gap in pounds kept growing even as semis caught up in percentage terms.

Source: ValuQ analysis of HM Land Registry Price Paid data (resales only, standard sales, release of 28 September 2026). Free to republish with credit to ValuQ.

What is the cost of trading up?

The cost of trading up is the extra money a seller needs to move from the home they own to the next, larger type of home in the same area. Here it is the gap between the median detached resale price and the median semi-detached resale price in the same postcode district, in the same year. A postcode district is the first half of a postcode, such as SS15 or LS6.

Comparing within the same district matters. A national average compares a detached house in Surrey with a semi in Sunderland. Our measure compares homes a mover could realistically choose between.

Which towns saw the biggest change?

The pattern is regional, but every region has towns that buck it. Southport, in the North West, is one of the towns where trading up got most affordable. Braintree in Essex and Orpington in south east London went the other way. The table covers the 167 towns with at least 200 detached and 200 semi-detached resales in the latest year. In 72 of them the step got cheaper; in 95 it got dearer.

Basildon, where ValuQ first launched, sits just under the table's sales threshold (192 detached and 207 semi-detached resales in the latest year). Its step fell from about £121,900 to £111,800, £10,100 cheaper than in 2022. Nearby, Chelmsford was £6,500 cheaper and Brentwood £5,700 cheaper.

Why is this happening now?

The week's news explains the timing. The official UK House Price Index for July 2026 showed detached prices in England up 1.4% on the year against 2.7% for semis. Mortgage rates have climbed back towards 6% for a two-year fix, according to Moneyfacts data reported on 12 October 2026, and the RICS survey for September found more homes coming up for sale while new buyer enquiries fell.

• Detached homes are the most expensive rung, so they feel higher borrowing costs first; ValuQ's September research found they also sell at a loss more often than semis.
• In London and the South East, detached homes carry the largest price tags, so they are the most exposed when borrowing gets dearer.
• In the North, detached homes started from lower prices, so the same percentage rise still adds more pounds to the gap.

What does this mean if I own a semi?

In London, the South East and the East of England, a semi owner thinking about moving up is in a better position than in 2022: their home has risen and the detached homes they want have not. In the North and Midlands, the semi has risen too, but the target has moved further away in cash terms, even though detached prices are rising more slowly than they were.

The medians above are averages for a district. Your own step depends on your home and the specific houses you would buy. The way to find out where you sit is to see what your home would actually achieve today, side by side with what local agents say, before you start viewing.

What does this mean if I own a detached home?

Across London and the South East, a detached home bought in 2022 is worth about the same today, and the premium it carries over a semi has narrowed. Pricing it from the 2022 peak rather than from today's sales risks a long wait on the market. In the North, detached owners have held their premium in pounds, so their position is stronger than the national headlines suggest.

What does this mean for buyers?

• A buyer stepping up to a detached home in London, the South East or the East of England needs less extra money than in 2022.
• A buyer in the North East, Yorkshire or the Midlands needs more, so the bigger deposit or the bigger loan has to come from somewhere.
• In every region the detached premium has narrowed in percentage terms, from 154% of a semi's price to 150%.

How did ValuQ do this?

How we did this: ValuQ took every standard resale (new builds excluded) of a detached or semi-detached home recorded by HM Land Registry in two 12-month windows, August 2021 to July 2022 and August 2025 to July 2026. That is 394,782 sales in the first window and 337,358 in the second. For each postcode district with at least 10 detached and 10 semi-detached sales in both windows (1,798 districts), we took the median price of each type and the gap between them.

Regional and town figures are averages of the district gaps, weighted by the number of semi-detached sales, because semi owners are the ones considering the step. Regions come from each district's most common local authority region; towns are Royal Mail post towns. Recent months can be added to Land Registry data late, which affects sale counts more than medians. Scotland and Northern Ireland are not covered by this dataset.

For four years the conversation has been about whether prices are going up or down. For a family in a semi, the number that matters is the gap to the next house. In the South that gap has quietly shrunk. In the North it has grown. Same country, same mortgage rates, opposite answers. Evren Ergin, founder of ValuQ

Questions people ask about trading up

ValuQ gives UK homeowners free, side-by-side property valuations from competing local estate agents. If you are weighing up a move, knowing what your own home is worth today tells you which side of this table you are on.