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Four bedroom homes go from luxury to 'must have' as prices rise

The price tag on large homes has hit record highs in September - Steve Parsons/PA
The price tag on large homes has hit record highs in September - Steve Parsons/PA

Four bedroom houses have gone from “luxury to must have”, estate agents said as prices hit near record highs.

Rightmove said the price of a typical “second stepper” home reached a record average asking price of £291,618 in September.

But the home-working revolution has led to a change in habits, according to Tim Bannister, a director at the firm.

"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,” he said.

“Needing more space has always been the most popular reason for moving house, but now there's 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.”

He added: “Increased competition for second stepper homes has pushed prices to a record this month for those looking to take the next step up the ladder.”

Second stepper homes are typically those sought out by buyers leaving their first home and moving on to the second rung of the property ladder. They could be houses or flats.

Across all property types, Rightmove said prices had remained steady since reaching a record high in July.

The average asking price for a property in September was £319,996 - just £269 below the record set in July.

Average asking prices generally are up by 0.2 per cent month-on-month and up by 5 per cent annually - the highest annual growth rate since September 2016.

Several regions in the UK have seen strong growth, but the number of sales agreed in London is down by three per cent this year compared with the same period a year ago.

Mr Bannister said people are choosing to leave the capital, although many are settling further out rather than leaving the city altogether.

Ben Hudson, of estate agents Hudson Moody in York, said: "A number of our buyers are coming from London, as it's comparatively cheap here compared to the capital.

"They're selling up their homes in Wandsworth and Clapham and buying a four-bed detached house in York, because they'll only be commuting from here once or twice a week, something they would never have been able to consider doing before.”