THE PROPERTY FILTER TAKE
Flats and maisonettes fell 2.27% year-on-year to an average of £216,246 in SAM Conveyancing's analysis of Land Registry data, while every house type rose.
From a portfolio perspective, a small fall in value becomes a bigger dent in equity once a mortgage sits on the flat, which can squeeze your next refinance.
What I'd do with this information: consider checking the lease length, ground rent and service charge terms on each flat you hold, and speaking to your broker about lender appetite before you plan a refinance.
Flat values fell 2.27% year-on-year to an average of £216,246, according to SAM Conveyancing's analysis of Land Registry data up to June 2026, reported by PropertyWire on 14 September. Every house type rose over the same period. SAM Conveyancing and PropertyWire frame this as leasehold flats falling while freehold houses climb.
What does the data actually show?
The reports describe the 2.27% figure by property type, flats and maisonettes; the leasehold framing is SAM Conveyancing's explanation for the fall. PropertyWire describes them as the only property type recording a decline in value. Over a five-year period, flat values fell 1.56%, according to the same research.
Houses moved the other way. Semi-detached homes rose 3.16% year-on-year to an average of £285,618, terraced houses rose 2.76% to £240,147 and detached homes rose 1.98% to £463,547 (PropertyWire, 14 September 2026). SAM Conveyancing's research also indicates that nearly nine in ten leasehold flats remain on the market for more than six months.
For a second view, the official UK House Price Index summary for June 2026 (provisional) put the average UK flat or maisonette at £193,711, down 1.6% on June 2025. The levels differ from SAM Conveyancing's, so I treat them as separate measures. But the direction is the same: flats down, all three house types up.
Why are flats falling behind?
Andrew Boast, Chief Executive of SAM Conveyancing, blames mounting legal, legislative and financial pressure on leaseholders. Leaseholders own a lease for a fixed term, while a freeholder owns the building. According to PropertyWire, Boast said transactions stall "on a daily basis because of delayed leasehold reforms". He also cited "the sheer complexity of Building Safety Act compliance, ground rent clauses, lease terms and mortgagee protection clauses". Those clauses are lease terms that protect a lender's security if the lease runs into trouble.
He also points at lenders. "Lenders are heavily scrutinising ground rent terms and insisting on strict mortgagee protection clauses," Boast said. "When you combine this with aggressive freeholder controls, escalating service charges, and unresolved cladding liabilities, many flats are becoming borderline unmortgageable without significant legal remediation." Ground rent is the annual charge a leaseholder pays the freeholder. If it is a live issue on one of your leases, our free lease extension calculator gives you a first read on the premium.
A caveat worth keeping. Property Industry Eye points out that the figures do not establish that leasehold issues alone caused the gap. Location, affordability and changing buyer preferences can also affect how property types perform.
What does this mean for a portfolio holding flats?
Here is the leverage play in reverse. Take an illustrative flat worth £200,000 with an illustrative £150,000 mortgage, so 75% LTV (loan-to-value, the loan as a share of the property's value). A 2.27% fall takes the value to £195,460. Your equity (value minus the outstanding mortgage) drops from £50,000 to £45,460.
That is a £4,540 fall in value but a 9.08% cut in your equity. And the LTV creeps up to about 76.7%, which matters if you hold flats and plan to refinance near a lender's threshold. You may wish to run each flat through our free stress test calculator at today's likely valuation, not last year's.
There is another side. Today's Conveyancer reports SAM Conveyancing's view that slow-selling flats create "an unprecedented opportunity" for cash buyers and investors to negotiate discounts on urban apartments. If you buy on that basis, consider pricing in the lease risks Boast lists, and read our property investment strategies hub on balancing flats against houses over the cycle.
Key takeaways
Flats and maisonettes fell 2.27% year-on-year to an average of £216,246 in SAM Conveyancing's analysis of Land Registry data up to June 2026 (PropertyWire).
Semi-detached homes rose 3.16%, terraced 2.76% and detached 1.98% year-on-year over the same period, according to the same research.
SAM Conveyancing's research indicates nearly nine in ten leasehold flats stay on the market for more than six months.
On an illustrative £200,000 flat with a £150,000 mortgage, a 2.27% fall cuts equity by 9.08% and lifts LTV from 75% to about 76.7%.
The official UK House Price Index for June 2026 (provisional) also shows flats down 1.6% year-on-year while house types rose.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2.27% fall only for leasehold flats?
Which house types rose in value?
Why does SAM Conveyancing think flats are falling?
How could a flat price fall affect my refinance?
Do official figures show the same trend?
