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…
but owners of these homes could have the last laugh…
In the last 20 years the price of a semi-detached house in Rotherham rose by 176%, compared to its detached counterpart, which saw a smaller rise of 162% during the same period.
Smaller properties did fare the best – flats/apartments rose by a massive 347% and terraced houses rose by 215% – but this was because they were 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 semi-detached stood at £43,700,
…today it stands at £120,700
This is the attractiveness of semis – they 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 the British chose, 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 two houses in Rotherham are semi-detached houses.
There are 22,572 semi-detached properties in Rotherham and they represent 49.22% of all the households in Rotherham.
Rotherham has such a mix of semi-detached properties.
There are the older classic bay fronted semis all the way through to more modern ones built in the last couple of decades.The older ones 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 was 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 791 semi-detached houses have been sold in Rotherham in the last 12 months alone.
Still as popular today as they were with the Victorians all those years ago – some things just stand the test of time!
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