Property type
Property type is how HM Land Registry classes each sale: detached, semi-detached, terraced, flat or maisonette, or other.
Property type is the kind of building a sale relates to. HM Land Registry records one type for every sale in Price Paid Data, using a single letter.
It is one of the most useful fields in the data. The type of home that sold explains more of the gap between two prices than almost anything else, so comparing like with like starts here.
The five types
D stands for detached, S for semi-detached, T for terraced and F for flat or maisonette. The fifth, O for other, is used only where a sale does not fit the four main types, for example a sale made up of more than one large parcel of land.
End of terrace houses are counted as terraced. Bungalows are not shown separately, so a bungalow appears as detached, semi-detached or terraced depending on how it is built.
What the type does not tell you
The type says nothing about size. A two-bedroom detached cottage and a six-bedroom detached house share the same letter. The data also has no field for bedrooms, floor area, condition or garden.
A terraced house in one town can cost more than a detached house in another. Type is a way to compare homes within the same place, not a ranking of value on its own.
Why type moves a typical price
A median price for an area depends on which homes sold. If more flats than usual sell in a month, the median falls, even when no home has changed in value. If a run of detached houses sells, it rises.
Looking at each type separately removes much of this effect. House Price Monitor postcode pages show the median sold price for each of the four main types, as well as for houses and flats overall. Sales recorded as other are left out of the figures, along with land and non-residential sales.
Indices such as the UK House Price Index deal with the same problem by being mix-adjusted. Our guide to what the Land Registry price data includes covers every field.
| Recorded by | HM Land Registry |
| Codes | D, S, T, F and O |
| End of terrace | Counted as terraced |
| Bungalows | Not shown separately |
Related terms
Detached house · Semi-detached house · Terraced house · Flat or maisonette · Price Paid Data · Mix-adjusted