House sellers’ asking prices ‘average nearly £3,000 per square metre’

House sellers are demanding nearly £3,000 on average for each square metre of their home, according to analysis covering England and Wales.

Rightmove, which based its calculations on property sizes as well as the asking prices of 1.2 million homes listed for sale, found that the average asking price per square metre has reached £2,954.

This is nearly a fifth (19%) higher than five years ago, when the average was £2,487.

Average asking prices range from upwards of £10,000 across the W postcode in London, which includes areas such as Westminster, Paddington, Soho and Notting Hill, to less than £1,500 in Sunderland, Teesside and Blackburn.

The data is being used in a new house extension cost calculator from Rightmove, which estimates how much value extensions could add to a house.

Tim Bannister, director of data services at Rightmove, said: “Home owners need to think about why they are doing an extension.

“If it’s to add value to a home then it’s worth bearing in mind that local markets all differ, as does the price that people will be able to pay for a property, so there will be times where adding an extension will not increase the home’s value by more than its cost.

“But for many people the reason is so that they can have more space at that moment in time, and so adding some value for when they do go on to sell in the future could be a bonus for them.

“The final cost will depend on the materials that home owners might need to buy as well as any extras such as planning permission.”

Here are average regional asking prices per square metre, according to Rightmove, and the percentage increase compared with five years earlier:

– East Midlands, £2,291, 25%
– East of England, £3,431, 26%
– London, £6,219, 14%
– North East, £1,590, 7%
– North West, £2,046, 18%
– South East, £4,017, 19%
– South West, £2,992, 21%
– Wales, £1,938, 17%
– West Midlands, £2,425, 23%
– Yorkshire and the Humber, £1,985, 16%

The 10 priciest postcode areas per square metre:

1. W, West London, £10,427
2. SW, South West London, £9,192
3. NW, North West London, £8,398
4. N, North London, £7,238
5. SE, South East London, £5,862
6. E, East London, £5,795
7. HA, Harrow, £5,768
8. TW, Twickenham, £5,765
9. KT, Kingston-upon-Thames, £5,597
10. AL, St Albans, £5,582

The 10 cheapest postcode areas per square metre:

1. SR, Sunderland, £1,417
2. TS, Teesside, £1,444
3. BB, Blackburn, £1,490
4. DH, Durham, £1,504
5. FY, Blackpool, £1,541
6. DN, Doncaster, £1,553
7. DL, Darlington, £1,554
8. CA, Carlisle, £1,620
9. SA, Swansea, £1,661
10. BD, Bradford, £1,725