Semi-detached house
A semi-detached house is one of a pair of houses joined by a single shared wall. HM Land Registry records it as property type S.
A semi-detached house is one of two houses built as a pair, joined by one shared wall. Each house is open on its other three sides. In HM Land Registry's Price Paid Data it is recorded as property type S.
Semi-detached houses are common across England and Wales, especially in suburbs built between the wars and after. They usually sit between terraced and detached houses in price, though this varies from place to place.
What counts as semi-detached
The key feature is a single shared wall, called a party wall, with one neighbour. Semi-detached bungalows are recorded as S too, because bungalows have no separate type in the data.
A house at the end of a row of three or more is not semi-detached, even though it also has only one neighbour. It is an end of terrace house and is recorded as terraced.
Semi-detached houses in sold prices
Because pairs of semis were often built in large numbers to similar plans, many streets have rows of near identical homes. That can make them easier to compare than detached houses, which vary much more.
Their share of sales still affects an area's overall median. A month with more semi-detached sales than usual can move the figure even if prices are flat. The free postcode pages on House Price Monitor show the median for semi-detached houses separately, so the effect of the mix is easier to see.
Comparing semi-detached sales
Look first at sales of semi-detached houses on the same road or nearby roads, sold recently. Then think about what the data does not show: extensions, loft conversions, garden size and condition can all separate two homes that look alike from the street.
As an example, if three semis on a road sold for between £340,000 and £360,000 last year, and one with a large extension sold for more, the extended house is a poor guide to an unextended one. The figures here are only for illustration. Our guide on estimating your home's value from sold prices explains how to choose comparables.
| Land Registry code | S |
| Shared walls | One |
| Bungalows | Included where semi-detached |
| End of terrace | Not included, counted as terraced |
Related terms
Property type · Detached house · Terraced house · Comparables · Median price