Best new build buy to let investment - a house or a flat?

New figures from the National Home Building Council suggests the popularity of detached properties has soared during the pandemic - prompting the question as to whether more landlords should desert the traditional apartment and buy into larger units.

In the third quarter of 2021 some 36 per cent of new homes registered to be built were detached - much higher than the 28 per cent in Q3 2020. 

Detached new builds are now at their most popular since 2002.

There’s been a shift away from flats: in Q3 2020 they made up 29 per cent of new build registrations, whereas in the most recent quarter of 2021 they constituted 37 per cent.

Steve Wood, chief executive of the NHBC, says: “With new home registrations up by a healthy 14 per cent, the market remains buoyant. There is confidence in new homes despite the significant supply-chain disruption presently being experienced.

“Housebuilders are responding swiftly to shifts in consumer demand for detached houses that offer more space. The move away from apartment blocks is affecting London but this is only one quarter’s data.”

Ten of the 12 NHBC UK regions saw a rise in new home registrations between July and the end of September this year.

The highest rises were in the East Midlands (103 per cent), North East (86 per cent) and Yorkshire & Humberside (63 per cent).

By comparison, London’s total fell by 78 per cent.