Those who want to upsize or downsize may struggle due to insufficient stock levels
Three-bedroom homes are the most commonly available properties on Britain’s housing market, new research from eXp UK has found.
The estate agent network analysed current residential property listings for sale across Great Britain and segmented the available properties by the number of bedrooms they offer to see what size of property is most readily available.
The research showed that of the 686,606 homes currently for sale on the market, three-bedroom properties are the most prominent, accounting for over a third, or 35.1%, of all listings.
Two-bedroom properties account for more than a quarter, or 28.8%, of the market stock, while four-beds make up 17.8%.
eXp UK noted that when it came to one-bed (8.8%), five-plus-bed (7.2%), and studio (2.3%) homes, scarcity levels increased.
“Three-bed homes are the perfect match for many first-time buyers – they provide a bed for the parents, a bed for the kid, and then a spare room for guests or office use,” Adam Day, head of eXp UK, commented. “House builders are aware of this, so they make sure to keep the market well-stocked with properties they’re confident will be met by high demand.”
Day, however, pointed out that as a consequence, homeowners would likely be trapped at this three-bed level as those who want to upsize or downsize may struggle due to insufficient stock levels.
“For those who need to upsize, four-beds account for as little as 11% of listings, while five-plus-beds seem to be incredibly scarce,” he said. “But also, those who want or need to downsize could be facing a tricky challenge, with stock levels depleting as homes get smaller.
“Two-bed availability drops as low as 25% while one-beds are fast becoming gold dust, making up little more than 3% in some British regions. This also creates a difficult environment for single first-time buyers who only need, and can often only afford, a one-bed home with which to get a foot on the ladder.
“Maybe our national housing market is biased towards those who have coupled-up and sired offspring? But if we want to encourage downsizers in order to free up larger homes, we need to have an appropriate level of stock to tempt them with in the first place.”
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