Why Your M7 Terrace Might Be the Real Star of the Show Right Now
Hello there, neighbour! Avi Rosenfeld here. I was wandering down Leicester Road this morning, dodging a few rogue raindrops and watching a local postie navigate the stairs of those grand old buildings. It got me thinking: if you stood in the middle of Kersal with a magic wand, what kind of home would you choose to make your money work hardest?
Imagine for a second that seven years ago, you had a choice. You could have tucked your savings into a shiny flat near Lower Broughton, or you could have put it into the bricks and mortar of a traditional terraced house. If you’d picked the terrace, you’d be sitting on an extra £57,077 today. But if you’d chosen the flat? Well, your home would actually be worth about £7,500 less than what you paid for it. That is a massive swing, and it tells us a huge story about what’s happening in our corner of the world.
The Great M7 Price Gap
Right now, the average price for a home in M7 is £270,140. But that’s a bit like saying the average animal in the zoo is medium-sized—it doesn't tell you the difference between a hamster and a giraffe!
Let's look at the "menu" of homes we have here:
- Detached Houses: These are the kings of the castle, like that beautiful home on Park Lane that recently fetched £1.6 million.
- Semi-Detached: These are sitting at an average of £341,359.
- Terraced Houses: The local heroes, averaging £284,347.
- Flats: These are currently averaging £127,246.
Did you know that the price gap between a flat and a terrace in M7 is now over £157,000? That’s not just a few extra quid; that’s the price of a whole second flat! This gap has widened because while the cost of living has gone up, people are still desperate for their own front door and a bit of a garden, even if it means stretching their budget.
Why the Banks are Changing the Game
You might wonder why flats are feeling a bit unloved while houses are flying. It all comes down to the "Big Bank Bosses" in London. The Bank of England has set the interest rate at 3.75%. While that’s lower than it was a while back, it means the banks are being much fussier about who they lend money to.
Because prices for things like milk and petrol have been rising (that’s inflation for you), the money people have left at the end of the month is tighter. If you’re a first-time buyer looking at a flat, you’re being squeezed the hardest. Meanwhile, families looking for semis or terraces often have a bit more "cushion," which is why those houses have grown in value by 22% to 25% over the last seven years.
What Should You Do?
If you live in a semi-detached home in Higher Broughton, you’ve seen your home’s value jump by more than £62,000 since 2019. That is fantastic news! It means you have a lot more "spare change" hidden in your walls than you might realise.
If you own a flat, don't panic. While the value has dipped by 5.6% over seven years, the national trend is starting to show that as earnings grow (up by 3.5% lately), people will eventually start looking for value again—and M7 flats are certainly "on sale" compared to everything else.
For my friends looking to buy: the terraced house is the "Goldilocks" option in M7 right now. It has seen the highest growth percentage (25.1%) and remains the most popular choice for people moving into the area.
Looking ahead to the rest of 2026, I expect the market to stay "balanced." We have about 7 months' worth of houses waiting for owners, so there’s no rush, but the good ones—especially those lovely terraces near Cavendish Road—won't sit around forever.
If you're curious about which category your home falls into, or just want to know if you're sitting on a pot of gold, pop in for a chat!