The value of freehold houses keeps rising while leasehold flats and maisonettes lose value, according to analysis by SAM Conveyancing.

Analysis of the latest Land Registry data, covering the year to June 2026, shows that flats and maisonettes are the only major property type in the UK to record negative annual growth. Their average value fell 2.27% year-on-year to £216,246.

The decline is also evident over a longer period. Flat values have fallen 1.56% over five years, leaving owners facing depreciating assets while house prices have recorded sustained growth.

By contrast, all three main house types recorded annual price increases.

Semi-detached properties led the market, rising 3.16% over the year to an average £285,618. Terraced houses increased 2.76% to £240,147, while detached homes rose 1.98% to £463,547.

SAM Conveyancing chief executive Andrew Boast said the fall in flat values reflected growing legal, legislative and financial pressures facing leaseholders.

“The fall in value across the leasehold sector is mirrored exactly by the rise in headaches for owners and prospective buyers,” says Boast.

He said transactions were increasingly being delayed by leasehold issues, including Building Safety Act compliance, ground rent clauses, lease terms and mortgagee protection clauses.

Boast also pointed to tighter lending criteria as a major factor affecting the flat market, adding to the complexity of conveyancing transactions.

“Lenders are heavily scrutinising ground rent terms and insisting on strict mortgagee protection clauses,” Boast adds.

He said the combination of freeholder controls, rising service charges and unresolved cladding liabilities meant some flats were becoming difficult to mortgage without significant legal remediation.

According to the analysis, nearly nine in ten leasehold flats have been on the market for more than six months. Sellers in this category therefore face pressure to price competitively if they are to secure a transaction.

For cash buyers and investors who are not subject to the same mortgage stress tests, however, the weakness in the flat market could create opportunities to negotiate significant discounts on urban apartments.

• Semi-detached houses: +3.16% — average £285,618
• Terraced houses: +2.76% — average £240,147
• Detached houses: +1.98% — average £463,547
• Flats and maisonettes: -2.27% — average £216,246