Data, measured 14 September 2026, from the PropDetect analysed base
Asking price per square foot against what actually sold
Across 2,637 UK listings that carry a floorplan area and at least 30 matched sold comparables, the median home is asked at £164 per square foot against a sold rate of £182 for its own comparables: 92.9% of what actually sold. The median home in the sample is 72 square metres, 775 square feet.
The figure worth the page is what that ratio does to the odds. Of the 707 listings asked at under 80% of their comparables' sold rate, 49.1% stack once refurbishment, purchase costs, finance and exit are modelled. Of the 354 asked at 120% or more, 0.3% do. Nothing else we measure separates the two ends that cleanly. Measured 14 September 2026.
Table 1: the ratio, and how often each band stacks
Each listing's asking rate is divided by the sold rate of its own comparables, then the listings are banded by that ratio. Every column is a median or share across the listings in that band.
| Asked at, as a share of the comparables' sold rate | Listings measured | Median asking £ per sq ft across these listings | Median sold £ per sq ft of their comparables | Median asking as % of sold | Median size of these homes | Share of these listings that stack |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 80% of the sold rate | 707 | £120 | £186 | 68.3% | 79 m2, 850 sq ft | 49.1% |
| 80% to 95% | 703 | £163 | £191 | 88.1% | 74 m2, 797 sq ft | 12.5% |
| 95% to 105% | 485 | £208 | £209 | 99.5% | 71 m2, 764 sq ft | 4.5% |
| 105% to 120% | 388 | £192 | £174 | 110.7% | 66 m2, 710 sq ft | 1.5% |
| 120% and over | 354 | £198 | £139 | 133.5% | 61 m2, 651 sq ft | 0.3% |
Two things sit in that table. The stack rate falls with every step up the bands, 49.1%, 12.5%, 4.5%, 1.5%, 0.3%, so a listing asked at or above the sold rate almost never works at that price. And the homes asked at the biggest premium are the smallest: a median 61 square metres in the top band against 79 in the bottom one. Small homes are asked at more per square foot than their comparables sold for, and it is the larger, cheaper-per-foot homes that stack.
Table 2: by region
Region from the postcode area. Regions with fewer than 50 listings are flagged; the East of England is left out with 10 listings. The sample is weighted to where investors look, so the regional rates describe that stock, not the whole market.
| Region | Listings measured | Median asking £ per sq ft across these listings | Median sold £ per sq ft of their comparables | Median asking as % of sold | Median size of these homes | Share of these listings that stack |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 917 | £141 | £154 | 91.7% | 64 m2, 688 sq ft | 19.1% |
| South East | 531 | £430 | £441 | 98.5% | 76 m2, 816 sq ft | 4.5% |
| North East | 458 | £121 | £131 | 92.8% | 81 m2, 872 sq ft | 21.8% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 234 | £129 | £147 | 89.8% | 80 m2, 861 sq ft | 20.5% |
| West Midlands | 207 | £209 | £236 | 88.2% | 70 m2, 753 sq ft | 18.4% |
| East Midlands | 91 | £196 | £225 | 88.0% | 69 m2, 743 sq ft | 20.9% |
| North West | 82 | £197 | £211 | 89.2% | 76 m2, 818 sq ft | 22.0% |
| South West | 50 | £240 | £309 | 79.4% | 83 m2, 888 sq ft | 30.0% |
| London | 30 (too small to rely on) | £584 | £767 | 86.2% | 65 m2, 694 sq ft | 40.0% |
| Wales | 27 (too small to rely on) | £161 | £175 | 85.4% | 79 m2, 850 sq ft | 40.7% |
Not shown: East of England (10 listings).
The South East is the one region asked close to its sold rate, 98.5% across 531 listings, and it is also where the fewest deals stack, 4.5%. The North East, Yorkshire and the Midlands are asked at 88% to 93% of sold and stack four to five times as often. The South West's 79.4% rests on 50 listings and should be read as a hint, not a finding.
Table 3: by bedrooms
| Bedrooms | Listings measured | Median asking £ per sq ft across these listings | Median sold £ per sq ft of their comparables | Median asking as % of sold | Median size of these homes | Share of these listings that stack |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 bedroom | 264 | £151 | £165 | 92.4% | 44 m2, 473 sq ft | 18.6% |
| 2 bedrooms | 1,243 | £168 | £184 | 94.3% | 65 m2, 700 sq ft | 17.3% |
| 3 bedrooms | 1,008 | £161 | £184 | 92.9% | 84 m2, 904 sq ft | 17.6% |
| 4 bedrooms | 82 | £183 | £235 | 81.6% | 108 m2, 1,163 sq ft | 18.3% |
The rate per square foot barely moves between one, two and three bedrooms in this sample; what moves is the size, 44 to 84 square metres. Four-bedroom homes are asked furthest below their comparables, 81.6% across 82 listings, which is a small group.
How these figures are produced
Asking price divided by the floor area stated on the agent's floorplan. Listings whose area had to be inferred from the postcode's EPC median (24 in the base) are excluded here so that every rate is a real price over a stated area. The sold rate is the median price per square foot across the listing's matched sold comparables, at least 30 per listing, each with its own recorded floor area. A listing stacks when at least one modelled strategy clears the thresholds in the methodology after refurbishment, purchase costs, finance and exit are counted; how those comparables are matched is set out on the GDV methodology.
How the numbers behind this page are produced, and what the method can and cannot see: does AI property valuation actually work, and the measured back-tests on the accuracy page.
What this data does not say
- Floorplan areas are the agent's. They are usually gross internal area but not always measured the same way, and the comparables' areas come from a different record. The ratio absorbs some of that noise; the absolute rates carry it.
- Asked at a discount and worth buying are different things. Half the cheapest band does not stack, most often because the work needed absorbs the discount. Price per square foot tells you where to look, not what to pay.
- The stack rate in the top band, 0.3%, is one listing in 354. Read it as approximately none, not as a precise rate.
- Figures are as of 14 September 2026 and are refreshed from the committed query, never edited by hand.
One limit applies to every figure on this page: the properties were chosen by PropDetect users to analyse, so this is a sample of investor interest, not a survey of the UK market. Where our users search shapes what the numbers can say.
Common questions
What is the average asking price per square foot in the UK?
Across the 2,637 listings PropDetect has analysed that carry a floorplan area and at least 30 matched sold comparables, the median asking rate is £164 per square foot for a median 775 square foot home. That is a sample of what investors chose to analyse, weighted to Scotland and the North East, not a national average. Within it, the South East is asked at a median £430 per square foot across 531 listings and the North East at £121 across 458. Measured 14 September 2026.
How does the asking price per square foot compare with what actually sold?
The same 2,637 listings are asked at a median 92.9% of the sold rate of their own matched comparables: £164 asked against £182 sold per square foot. 742 of them (28%) are asked above the rate their comparables actually sold at.
Does a low price per square foot mean a good deal?
It is the strongest single predictor we measure, and it is not a guarantee. Of 707 listings asked under 80% of their comparables' sold rate, 49.1% stack once refurbishment, purchase costs, finance and exit are modelled. Of 354 asked at 120% or more, 0.3% do. The other half of the cheap band does not stack, usually because the work needed eats the discount.
Where does the floor area come from?
From the agent's floorplan on the listing. Listings whose area had to be inferred from the postcode's EPC median (24 in the base) are left out of this page so that every asking rate divides a price by a stated area. The sold rate is the median price per square foot across the listing's matched sold comparables, each carrying its own recorded floor area.
More from the same base
- What a refurb actually costs, room by room
- Refurb cost by UK region, per square foot
- How much below-market stock is actually out there
- Where the below-market stock actually is
- Does AI property valuation actually work
- Which strategy stacks, region by region
- What the listing photographs reveal, room by room
- Auction guide prices against sold comparables
- See the output on a real analysed property, Bolton Road, Bradford, or browse every published example analysis, with the room schedule and the comparable sales shown.
The ratio tells you which band a listing is in. What it needs spending on it is the other half. Run your own property through PropDetect and the same figures arrive for that address in about three minutes. No card needed for the first analyses.