Harlow Semi
Detached House Prices rise by 337% in 20 years
The semi-detached house with its bay windows and net curtains has long been ridiculed as an emblem of safe, lacklustre and desperately uncool suburban life; the homes of the likes of Hyacinth Bucket in Keeping up Appearances and more latterly Alan Partridge – but they could have the last laugh ..
The semi can now laugh in the face of its posher detached counterpart, which saw a rise of only 242% in the same 20-year period. Looking at smaller properties, flats/apartments rose 397%, whilst terraced houses rose 372% (although they were starting from a lower base and demand from buy to let landlords has had a big part in driving the values on that type of house (i.e. the price a buy to let landlord is prepared to pay is driven by the rent the landlord can achieve).
In 1996 the average value of a Harlow semi stood
at £87,100, today it stands at £381,200
Such is the attractiveness of semis, which are cheaper than
detached houses but have most of the same benefits for families. Semi-detached
houses were built in their hundreds of thousands by the Victorians and
Edwardians between the wars and through to the present day. Interestingly in
the late 19th Century and early 20th century – they often
weren’t referred to as semi-detached – but as villas!
So whilst Europeans live on top of
each other in apartments us British chose, in the late Victorian and early
Edwardian times, suburban comfort, being near … but not too near, the
neighbours! I once heard someone say the semi-detached house was a peculiar
crossbreed that doesn’t stand on its own — it is inseparable from its neighbour
— yet somehow still embodies a dream of suburban independence.
Nearly one in five houses in Harlow
is a semi-detached house
There are 5,243 semi-detached properties in Harlow and they
represent 15.13% of all the households in Harlow. Harlow has such a mix of
semi-detached properties with the semis to more modern ones built in the last
couple of decades. Especially with the older ones, the semi offered a hall to
provided separation between the reception rooms and privacy for their
occupants. Also the downstairs offered larger rooms to accommodate dining
tables, whilst upstairs, bedrooms were smaller, yet cosy.
However, probably the most overlooked aspect of popularity for
semis is the garden. The front garden, designed to separate the house from the
world, and the back garden designed for private relaxation. The semi in the
suburbs was relaxing, well presented, plumbed and enhanced by a garden so that
when a window was opened the air had a chance of being genuinely fresh… and it’s
for all those reasons why 104 semi-detached houses have been sold in Harlow in
the last 12 months. Still as popular
today as they were with the Victorians all those years ago – some things just
stand the test of time!
For more thoughts on the Harlow Property Market – please visit
the Harlow Property Market Blog at http://harlowproperty.blogspot.co.uk/