Searching for a home with more space? Find out how three to five-bedroom houses are performing in different areas.

Family homes in the Midlands have seen the biggest jump in value during the past four years.

The East Midlands ranks in first place, with the price per sq ft of a family home in the region increasing by 25.4%, or £43, since 2016 to stand at £212.

Meanwhile, the West Midlands comes in second place. The price per sq ft of a family home, defined as a three to five-bedroom house, has risen by 24.6% to £223, according to our data.

Price per sq ft measures the ratio between property value and size. In other words, it offers a base line for comparing the cost of homes without having to make adjustments for the different sizes of properties.

Wales comes in third, with a 23.6% hike in prices per sq ft, followed by those in the east of England and the north west, with gains of 21.4% and 21.3% respectively.

The cost of a three to five-bedroom house has increased by 20.8% in the past four years in the south west, 20.3% in Yorkshire and the Humber, and 16.7% in the south east.

London, which comes in ninth place, saw the biggest increase in values per sq ft in monetary terms, with a jump of £71 to an average of £558. However, in percentage terms the rise was only 14.6%.

Scotland and the north east saw the lowest gains in property values on a per sq ft basis, at 14.5% and 9.6% respectively.

Which local authorities saw the highest growth?

At a local authority level, Merthyr Tydfil, just south of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales, saw the biggest increase in prices per sq ft, with a jump of 38.2%, or £34, during the past four years to leave the average family home there costing £123 per sq ft.

The Forest of Dean, in the south west, was not far behind with a 37.9%, or £64, rise in prices per sq ft to £233, followed by Tameside in the north west at 35.9%, or £52, to £197.

Nottingham and Birmingham completed the top five, with house prices per sq ft rising by 34.8% and 34.1% respectively during the period.

Overall, six of the local authorities that saw the biggest price increases were in the East and West Midlands.

What’s the background?

The coronavirus pandemic is prompting many people to carry out a once-in-a-lifetime re-evaluation of their housing needs.

Successive lockdowns, combined with an increase in people working from home, is driving people to look for homes with more space. And demand for family houses with gardens, parking and extra space to work has intensified.

Our research shows people who are looking for more space, such as those with growing families, how three to five-bedroom houses are performing in terms of value.