Houses in England

Most people in England live in urban areas. Towns and cities are spreading into their surrounding environment to cope with the increasing populations. In England, an average of 7,000 hectares of farmland, countryside and green space were converted to urban use every year between 1985 and 1998. This is almost the equivalent size of 9,600 international football pitches!

Who owns houses in England?

More people are buying their own homes than in the past. About two-thirds of the people in England and the rest of Britain either own or are in the process of buying, their own home. Most others live in houses or flats that they rent from a private landlord, the local council, or housing association.

People buying their property almost always pay for it with a special loan called a mortgage, which they must repay, with interest, over a long period of time, usually 25 years.

What are houses in England like?

Most houses in England are made of stone or brick from the local area where the houses are built. The colours of the stones and bricks vary across the country.

Types of houses in England

England has many types of homes. In large cities, people often live in apartments, which are called flats. In most towns, there are streets of houses joined together in long rows. They are called terraced houses.

The main types of houses in England are:

• Detached (a house not joined to another house)
• Semi-detached (two houses joined together)
• Terrace (several houses joined together)
• Flats (apartments)

The most popular type of home in England is semi-detached (more than 27% of all homes), closely followed by detached then terraced.

Almost half of London's households are flats, maisonettes or apartments.

The average house price in UK is £310807 (February 2018).